Rise of the Owl
by fanficlovergirl06
Summary: Fran has a secret, one that changes the lives of her and the people she loves. That secret is about to show itself and with it bring a new evil the rangers must fight. Dom can tell Fran is hiding something, can he help her with whatever demons she's facing. First fanfic, please be kind. R&R. I do not own anything but the story plot. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Home again

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 1: Home again

Fran and Dominic were walking down the road with all of their backpacking gear. For the past six months they have been backpacking Europe and some parts of Asia. During that time they have grown incredibly close, yet neither was happy with the status of their relationship. They were still in the friend zone and neither liked that; however both had reasons for not making an advancing move on the other.

Dom loved Fran with every fiber of his being; he always had. When Di Shi was destroyed and he was planning his backpacking tour, he purposely bought a ticket for Fran. She made him feel complete. For years he had been living as a nomad, traveling from one place to another, without any companionship besides a book or two to keep him company. He seemed to be looking for something, something that would fill the little empty feeling in his heart. When he went to visit RJ, his world changed; he met Fran. She filled the void he so desperately wants to fill. When the rangers didn't first want him to be around and he almost left town, Fran stopped him. She gave him some kind, heart-felt words that lifted his spirits.

Though he fell for her the first moment they met. In the pizza pallor, when he first saw her, he wondered how she was connected to the restaurant owner and three other employees. He asked if she was also from the Pai Zuaq academy; she said no. When they were talking about books and adventures, he fell in love with her views on life, her kindness, her nerdiness, everything about her. He knew that when he left Ocean Bluff that he would ask her to come with him. He was doing imaginary somersaults when she said yes.

They were a great pair. Dom was experienced in traveling and Fran was a very quick study. She learned how to look for certain things with merchants and other people they met on their travels. She was cautious when needed, something that Dom knew he needed to counteract his impulsive and unpredictable personality.

He loved how they would sometimes cuddle close around a fire or talked about times before they met, and even their past adventures during the fight against Dai Shi, when he was a power ranger. He wanted them to become a real couple, but he was afraid she would feel like they were rushing into something that she wasn't ready for. He wanted Fran to make the first move, so he would know that she was ready for a relationship.

Fran on the other hand was saddened by more than just her lack of a true relationship with Dom. During and after the fight against Dai Shi she felt inadequate. All she did during the fight was get attacked by Dai Shi's forces, ran the pizza pallor at all the shifts alone, especially the lunch and dinner rushes, and be a good friend to the rangers when needed. And with all of that, Fran didn't feel like she really helped. Not to mention she was barely agnoliged for all of her hard work, but she wasn't the type to complain unless pushed beyond her limit, which Casey and the others did when RJ went to save innocent fish from being caught for sport and she had forgiven them when they apologized.

Fran didn't say anything to Dom about it because she didn't want it to look like she was petty or something just as horrible. Though with her feelings of inadequacy and sadness of what wasn't happening between her and Dom, she wasn't upbeat lately. For the past six months she has been learning to hide her feelings and emotions from Dom, so he wouldn't worry about or get upset with her because of them. Dom had an uncanny ability to read her like one of the many books that they both read.

She was able to hide her true feelings most of the time, but she was slipping lately. A few weeks ago Dom noticed she was looking a little sad. When he asked her what was wrong, she quickly covered her sad look up with a smile and saying that she was just a little home sick. Dom had hugged her, said he understood and he missed their friends too, and they stayed like that for a little while.

Now she was blindfolded while they walked down the road; Dom was leading her. The reason for her being blindfolded was that Dom said he had a surprise for her, so for the last few days she has been blindfolded when they were traveling. She wasn't worried because she knew he wouldn't let anything happen to her. Dom was reveling in her trusting him; he loved that she would so willingly trust him with her well-being; he loved everything about Fran.

He planned this surprise for her when she said she was home sick. He understood that six months away from her home when she had never ventured away from it before was probably making her feel slightly over whelmed. That's why they were headed to the one place he _knew_ would make her happy. He couldn't wait to see her reaction to his little surprise, and apparently Fran couldn't wait any longer.

"Dom, are we there yet?" Fran whined half playfully, half serious.

"Not yet, Fran. We're almost there; just a few more steps." Dom replied, a smile on his face enjoying her slightly whiny tone.

After a few more steps, Dom spoke again, "Alright we're right in front of the building now. We're stepping in the building. Take a moment and tell me what you smell and hear."

He was still smiling and Fran could hear it. She raised an eyebrow in suspicion under the blindfold, but she was willing to play his game. She took a deep breath, sniffing the air around her and concentrated on any sounds that presented themselves.

"I hear you smiling like the Cheshire Cat." She said, with a smirk of her own. "I hear clothing being rubbed together. There are more people around us; practically surrounding us. I smell very familiar scents."

"Like what, Fran?" Dom asked, excitedly. He knew what was soon coming.

"Pizza! Burnt cheese, organic cleaners, and bananas." She paused. "Wait, bananas and pizza? Dom, is there a Thrilla Gorilla Pizza nearby?"

"Take off the blindfold, Fran. Time for your surprise." Dom gently said, with a smile.

Fran took off the blindfold and was instantly assaulted with a huge chorice of "SURPRISE!" Her eyes widened in surprise and shock when she saw her friends, Dominic, and regular faces of JKP standing before her inside of Jungle Karma Pizza. Fran immediately ran to hug Dom, who had a huge smile on his face.

"Thank you so much, Dom! I _love_ my surprise!" She said with glee.

Fran was sure she was going to cry with joy, over what Dom had done to cheer her up. She knew he did this to help with her feeling home sick, but it also boosted her feelings in another way. He went to all the trouble of planning this and getting the others to set it up a head of time, all of it for her. She was touched that he cared enough to do this. It almost gave her enough confidence to overcome her fears of him rejecting her affections for him, almost but not quite. She just didn't want to risk him altogether; she could settle for just friendship, even if that's not everything she wanted with him.

She stirred herself out of her daydream and started to hug her friends. None of them changed much in the six months she and Dom were gone, but she didn't expect them to either. They all gave her hugs back, but RJ held on to her longer than the others. He and Fran were always close, so this wasn't a surprise to anyone. She really did miss them all; she never knew how much until now.

Dom saw how happy she was, but he also saw that there was more there. Now he sees that she wasn't sad because she was only home sick; she was sad about something else as well. He wouldn't push though; if she was upset he would wait for her to talk to him about it in her own time. He didn't want her to feel pressured into or to do anything she didn't want to voluntary. He just hoped he could help her when she did finally talk to him about what was making her so sad.


	2. Chapter 2: Confidence

**Authors note: **Sorry, everyone. I'm new to this, and I'm still getting use to how to do things. So, this is my first fanfic and I would appreciate any and all reviews. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the first. Enjoy fans!

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 2: Confidence

Everyone had a blast at the party. Fran was thrilled seeing her friends again; she was even thrilled to see Jarrod and Camille, and she wasn't even close to those two. She was more than half tempted to kiss Dom right on the mouth for her surprise, but she was still feared his rejection of her affections.

The whole party she and Dom were catching up on their friends' lives and Thrilla Gorilla Pizza, they both have missed RJ's best pizza idea for the last six months. Theo and Lily were still going strong in their relationship. Their first date had been a success and they were currently an exclusive couple. Both Fran and Dom were secretly jealous of them. Jarrod and Camille were also exclusive and had become model students at the school. They also became student teachers and helped Casey teach some of the beginner students. Casey had become the favorite master of most of the students and enjoyed teaching his students. He along with Theo, Lily, Jarrod, Camille, and Flit helped RJ run the pizza pallor and RJ reveled in having so many great employees.

Fran couldn't believe how happy everyone seemed to be; she just wished that she could be as happy as they are someday. Dom told her that they were staying for as long as she wanted, she hugged him tightly once more. RJ said that she had a room up at the loft since there was no telling how long she and Dom were going to stay. She was grateful and took up his offer, she didn't want to face her parents; they would think she was staying indefinitely and she wasn't. She wanted to keep traveling and she was going to; she never told Dom or the others, but her parents were against her traveling with Dom through Europe. She got into a huge argument with them and left them saying some really nasty things to them as she stomped out the door.

Unknown to her however, Dom called her parents and invited them to the party once he set it up with RJ. He thought her seeing them would help with her home-sickness, so when he saw two people who looked similar to Fran, he smiled softly to himself. He went over to them when he saw Fran distracted with a story that Casey was telling her. They both looked to be in their forties, and seemed very slim. The woman was about Fran's height, had light brown hair, and hazel eyes. The man was slightly taller than his wife, had dark blond hair and chocolate brown eyes. Dom could tell Fran got a little of her features from both of her parents, but her beauty was entirely hers alone.

"Hello, you must be Fran's parents. Thank you, for taking the time to be here." Dom said with kindness. He tried to keep his voice above the din of the crowd so they could hear him, but he didn't want to go too loud because he didn't want Fran to know they were there yet.

"Yes, we are." The woman said with a slightly dignified voice. Her voice was feminine, yet powerful, very opposite that of her daughter's soft and mousey voice "I'm Carla, and this is my husband, Roger."

Dom went to shake both their hands, but they didn't move. Dom was curious as to why they didn't want to shake his hand, but he didn't think on it for long.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you both. I'm Dominic. Fran is going to be so happy to you." He said.

"We'll have to see about that." Roger replied. His voice is rough and deep.

Before Dom could comment on that statement, he heard a very loud gasp and a plate with a piece of pizza on it fell to the floor. The whole restaurant went silent. Fran stood in the middle of the pizza pallor with a shocked and slightly fearful look on her face. Dom looked between Fran and her parents because she was staring at them. He was worried that something was going to happen, something bad. Her parents were both rigid with tension in their muscles, and stared their daughter down.

"Hello, Francis. It's nice to see you back." Carla said in a civil tone.

"What are you two doing here?" Fran whispered, which sounded like it was echoing in pizza pallor because of how quiet it was in the building now.

"We were invited by your _dear_ friend Dominic." Her father replied, emphasizing the word dear knowing she would understand.

"We're glad that you have returned, Francis. Now if you have finished your party, it is time to come home." Her mother left nothing for argument. Fran was to go home now, without complaint.

Fran was shaking slightly in rage. How dare her parents do this at JKP! How dare they order her around like a servant! How they dare treat her and her friends like this! Dom was worried about her; he had never seen Fran shake like this. He didn't know if she was shaking in fear or not, but he didn't care about that. He was at her side in a second tried to calmer down by gently rubbing her back. It didn't help with her shaking, but it did curb her temper slightly. It also did something more, something that Fran was surprised that it pleased her a bit, gave her confidence.

"No." She said quietly, so quietly that even Dom wasn't sure he heard her.

"What was that, Francis?" Roger bellowed, shocked that Fran said anything instead of actually nodding and complying. Carla was just as shocked.

"I said no, Father. I'm not leaving, and I'm not going to anywhere with you two." Fran said a little louder this time.

"Francis, –" But Carla was cut off by Fran's angered voice.

"My name is Fran!" She had finally had enough of her parents and enough of her compliance to them. "I am not going anywhere with you. I am tired of complying with your every whim. You two will not be controlling me anymore."

Everyone was shocked by Fran's words and her strength. Carla and Roger both had their mouths agape. Dom's eyebrows were raised and his eyes were bulging. Everyone else's eye were just as bulged and had gob-smacked looks upon their faces. RJ, though had a look that also looked pleased to see Fran being so bold. He knew she would one day come out of her timid nature, it was just a matter of time.

"Francis, you listen good and well. You are coming with us and will not speak anymore of this incident. You have a very important future ahead of you, and we will not see it ruined by your youth and naïve views." Her mother scowled.

"No, Mother. I am staying here, with my true family. RJ has offered me a place to stay up in his loft, and I accepted already. I'm even going to return to working here while Dom and I are in town. And another thing the future you talking about is _not_ the future I chose. _You_ are the ones who want me to go to Harvard and be a lawyer like the both of you, but that isn't my dream. I want to travel the world, see things that I have only read about, experience things I've never been able to experience because you would let me, based on your fear of me throwing away _your_ expectations of me. Well I have news for both of you, I'm going to keep traveling, keep seeing my friends, and stay by Dom's side for as long as he will let me; I'm not going to let you anyone run my life anymore." Fran said, breathing deeply because she had become a little breathless during her speech.

Everyone went back into shock. Dom was doing internal back springs and handsprings; he couldn't believe what he just heard. Fran wanted to stay by his side; it may not have been what he wanted exactly, but it was a step in the right direction. The others were more surprised that Fran had called them her true family. Jarrod and Camille weren't sure but they were hoping that they were included in Fran's true family view. RJ was more pleased and honored than shocked; he always saw Fran as a little sister. Like her, he too didn't have any siblings, so it was nice knowing that Fran saw him as family, just like he saw her as family. Her parents were just mad that she had the audacity to defy them at all, never mind in front of people that to them, were total strangers.

Fran on the other hand was pleased with herself. She knew that she had to give a lot of the credit to her friends, mostly Dom, for her new found courage. Dom gave her confidence she never dreamed she could possess, until she met him; she owed him so much for everything he does for her. She knew he heard her when she said she wanted to stay by his side, and he didn't show any outward reaction to her words, so she decided to take that as a positive sign. Fran never felt this empowered before, not even when she startled Theo and Casey with her tough girl act wearing the leather jacket that Lily wore when that porcupine spike was in her body. Fran was reveling in this empowered feeling she had from standing up to her parents. At least she did, until she heard a voice that she never wanted to hear again in her life.

"Well, look who finally grew a back-bone." A scornful male voice said. "Seems little Franny finally decided to take her nose out of the books and have an actual life. About time, Franny; it only took you seven years."

Everyone looked to the door to see a young man about the age of seventeen. A few people were surprised to see him there, but Fran was the only one who was hoping that she had never saw him. He was back and Fran really wished that he never did.

**Author's note: **Hope you enjoyed. Don't know when I'll update next, but I'll try to do it soon. If anyone has any suggestions about the story, please let me know; I will do my best to keep them in mind as I keep writing it. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3: The Visitor

**Author's note: **Well here you go, the update. Hope you like it. Please read and review.

**Warning:** Mentions of rape. Nothing graphic, promise. You have been warned.

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 3: The Visitor

"Well, look who finally grew a back-bone." A scornful male voice said. "Seems little Franny finally decided to take her nose out of the books and have an actual life. About time, Franny; it only took you seven years."

The figure who had spoken was as tall as RJ; he was slim, had dark hair, and chocolate brown eyes. He was standing in the doorway of JKP looking bored, but he also had another look. A look that Casey thought looked like the one that Jarrod wore when they first met, arrogant and evil.

Staring at him, Fran's hand subconsciously went to her right shoulder; Only RJ, Dom, Fran's parents and the guy in the doorway saw this action. Dom knew that Fran had scars that looked like they came from jagged claws on that shoulder; the only reason he knew about it was because he had convinced Fran to take off the t-shirt she wore over her swimsuit while they were swimming one day. He had always thought that she was scratched by a cat or dog when she was younger; he did ask her once, but she dodged the question, so he let it go thinking when she was ready she would tell him, like with most things. Now, however, he believed that this mysterious stranger had something to do with those scars.

RJ didn't know about the scars, but he had a vague idea that something happened to it that involved the guy in the doorway. Fran's parents knew about the scars and how they happened, but like everything else that was too emotional for them, they pretended that they didn't exist or the incident that caused them never happened. The guy in the door way also knew about the scars, and when he saw Fran put her hand on her right shoulder, he couldn't help the evil little smirk that formed on his face.

"I see after all this time the shoulder still hasn't healed." He goaded. He couldn't help it, he always loved to torment little Franny.

Fran didn't answer; she was in too much shock to speak. Here in front of her, after seven years, stood the one person she never wanted to see again. And what surprised Fran the most, was that he was wearing the uniform of a Pai Zuaq student, like when Casey, Theo and Lily wore when they first walked into JKP. She didn't know what to think or what to believe, and after hearing his voice and seeing him again, her shoulder, after all this time, started to throb in agonizing pain.

Camille decided that it was time to stop the scaving remarks towards Fran. "Brock, what are you doing here?" she said in a crisp and scornful voice. It was enough to shake everyone out of their shocked states a little.

"Camille, you know this guy?" Casey asked.

"Yes, he's in one of my advanced classes. He's one of my best students." She replied.

"Students aren't allowed to leave the school without permission." Jarrod chastised the young man.

"Well, when I overheard that Camille was being allowed to leave school grounds for a party for someone named Fran, I had to come and see if it was my old dear friend Franny. And I was right it is her."

"That is still no excuse for leaving without permission." Casey reprimanded.

The young man stopped listening to them and looked back to Fran. "You don't look happy to see me, old friend. Are you alright?" He said in a faux concerned voice.

"Wh… what are… you really doing… here, D-De-Derek?" Fran stuttered out in a soft voice that was barely above a whisper.

Everyone but Fran's parents was confused by Fran calling him Derek. Had Camille not just called him Brock? What is going on? How does Fran know this guy, and why is she so afraid of him?

"She speaks!" He exclaimed in a fake surprised voice. "Well, Franny, I have to say I thought that the leopard cut out your tongue."

"Answer me, Derek." She said a little louder, a bit more confidence in her voice.

Derek and her parents were surprised by Fran. She was never the type to be courageous. She always did what she was told and never questioned it. Now she was demanding that Derek answer her question, what could be responsible for this new change in her?

"If you must know, Franny, I came to take my revenge." Derek responded.

"Revenge? What reason would _you_ have for revenge?" Fran asked indignantly.

"It was _you_, Franny, who caused my life to be so miserable. I had to leave home because of you, and you're over-reacting to minor things. And I'm going to make sure that you pay for destroying my life." He scathingly remarked.

"_I_ ruined_ your_ life!?" Fran was beyond mad now. "_You're the_ one who made _my _life miserable! _You're _the one who would beat _me_ every day! _You're _the one who responsible for the scars on _my _shoulder! _You're _the one who tried to _rape me_! And _you_ think _I_ over-reacted to the way _you_ treated _me_!? If you hadn't of ran from home you would have been put in prison by now, for what _you_ did to _me_!"

Everyone was floored. Her parents were surprised that she was that mad to actually tell what Derek did to her seven years ago. Derek was surprised that Fran had the gall to actually speak to him like that. Everyone else was surprised that Fran ever went through all of that. RJ was surprised that Fran ever recovered from all that; Fran was so fragile, and added to the fact that her parents probably never helped her through the trauma she went through, it was a miracle that she was the sweet, caring, kind person that they all love.

Dom was shocked that Fran kept all of this to herself. With all of the times that they have talked and gotten to know each-other, he thought that she would have mentioned something about this; something about her parents, or Derek's cruelty, but no he didn't. He didn't understand why she would keep all of this from him; he didn't know what he could have done for her, but he could have tried to do something. Now that some of the most violent time of Fran's past was revealed, he was in even more awe of Fran. He knew, to some extent, that Fran didn't believe that she was a strong person, but learning about what happened to her made him see that she was strong; she is perhaps the strongest person that Dom had ever met. She was even stronger than any of the rangers, but for some reason she couldn't see that; it probably has something to do with what Derek did to her, and for that Dom was going to make him pay dearly.

Derek had had enough of Fran's empowerment. He wanted her timid and scared, not confident and courageous. Derek knew that if Fran found her bravery then he would lose every hold that he has on her. So to make sure that she remained afraid, he decided to make the one move that would scare her for the rest of her life. He was going to recreate what he did to her to give her the scars on her right shoulder.

He took a breath and looked deep inside of himself. Once he felt the presence he was looking for, forced it to the surface of his being, and then forced it out of his body. Before everyone in the restaurant, a black leopard appeared. Everyone froze, even the people who knew what was going on. Derek had just broke one of the most sacred laws of Pai Zuaq, he invoked his inner animal spirit in-front of non-Pai Zuaq members.

"NO!" Fran yelled.

Before anyone could react, the leopard attacked; it clawed at Fran's parents, and then is was heading to Fran. Fran's eyes bulged as wide as plates; she couldn't believe that her parents were attacked by a huge black leopard; the same leopard that attacked her seven years ago. The rangers didn't have time to react to what was happening, neither did Camille or Jarrod. The leopard was coming straight for Fran, but it never made its strike.

Before the leopard made contact with Fran; she felt something inside of her cry out. She felt a presence, one that she made her feel safe, similar to the way that Dom made her feel safe, but more than that. Fran knew that she had to do something before the leopard could finish its assault on her, so she trusted her instincts. She allowed the presence that cried out to come to the surface and free itself from her body.

To everyone's surprise, especially the rangers, Camille, Jarrod, Flit and Fran herself, a giant pink owl came out of her body and attacked the black leopard that was running towards Fran. The leopard backed off and re-entered Derek's body. The owl continued to attack by going towards Derek, but Derek ran before it could get to him. The owl then retreated back into Fran's body, which no one noticed until the owl was retreating, was glowing the same color pink as the owl.

**Author's note: **Ok, there's the update. Please review. For those who were uncomfortable with the mention of Fran being raped, I apologize. It just went well with the story; I am not trying to slam Fran, I like Fran. If you have any suggestions for this fic please, let me know. Also, I have a poll up on my profile for what type of fic I should write next, please participate. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4: Aftermath

**Author's note: Here's Chapter 4! Sorry for the late update, enjoy.**

**Warning: Mention of rape, nothing graphic, promise. You've been warned.**

888

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 4: Aftermath

**At the Park**

Derek was in the park by the time he stopped running. He could not believe it! Franny was a member of Pai Zuaq, and she has the spirit of the owl! This would not do. He had to find a way to break her. If he could break her, then nothing could stop him from preforming his master plan, and he knew just the thing to help. Franny won't know what hit her, until it's too late.

The only way for her to stop him is to master her animal spirit, and there was no way he was going to give her the opportunity to start; the less training she has with her spirit, the better for him to defeat her fast. He started laughing internally; this was going to be fun for him.

He turned to go towards the woods outside the city. He was going to break Franny, if it was the very last thing he did with what remained of his humanity, before he got rid of it forever.

888

**Jungle Karma Pizza**

Back at JKP, as soon as the owl spirit re-entered Fran, she passed out. Dom caught her in his arms before she hit the ground. He checked her pulse to see if she was alive and stable, which she was. He couldn't believe that she had invoked her animal spirit. Typically it takes years of discipline and learning the ways of Pai Zuaq, but she managed to do it instinctively when the leopard tried to attack her.

Everyone was floored. Fran; timid, gentle, non-violent, sweet, innocent Fran, had unleashed her animal spirit in protest to her, and the people around her, being attacked by Derek's black leopard. No one was quite sure what to do; Pai Zuaq was revealed and used in front of outsiders. The acts that Derek had done with the skills he learned at the academy, goes against the sacred laws; _never_ reveal existence of Pai Zuaq to outsiders, _never_ use the skills acquired from the school for anything, but self-defense and the defense of others, and _never_ attack the innocent with the inner animal. Derek had violated all of these and would have to be found and punished for his crimes.

RJ was the first to recover and decided that he should take charge of the situation. Since he was the only one there who had been a master the longest, he had a vague idea of how to handle the situation; first take care of the injured and Fran, second find a way to explain the situation, and finally come up with a way to cover-up everything that happened. RJ made eye contact with Casey, who nodded, giving the go ahead to handle with things how he sees fit.

"Ok, that was epic." RJ said, trying to sound nonchalant. He wasn't fooling anyone, "Dom, take Fran upstairs, poor thing tired herself out with all the excitement. Casey, Theo, Jarrod, Flit, take Fran's parents upstairs too, they must have pasted out from the shock of seeing how much their little girl has grown up." The boys all nodded in agreement and did as told.

"While the guys are seeing to those three, we are going to have to take care of everyone here and try to get them to believe they didn't see anything." RJ quickly whispered to Lily and Camille, who both nodded agreeing with RJ.

Camille turned to the still shocked crowd and threw some powder at everyone. As soon as the powder hit the people, they passed out into sleep. RJ and Lily looked at Camille questioningly.

"What?" Camille asked indignantly. "Now, we can play it all as a dream they had. Unless, either of you have any better ideas of who to cover-up the incident?"

Both Lily and RJ looked at each other for a moment, then they both shook their heads at her; they had to admit it was the best way to cover things up. Camille nodded in return, knowing she did the right thing. After that was settled they started cleaning up everything from the party, figuring it was easier to make everyone believe they dream up the intense events of the party. If anyone questioned it, they could come up with a cover story if need be.

Once that was taken care of, the crowd started to rouse. As the groggy people awoke, the three of kindly, yet quickly, ushered to party goers out of the pizza parlor. After the crowd was gone, Lily put the closed sign up, locked the door and closed the shade of the front door. Now, that all of that was taken care of, the three of them rushed up to the loft to tend to Fran and her parents.

888

**Somewhere in the Middle of the Woods Out-side the City**

Derek was getting annoyed. He had been out here for nearly an hour, and there was no sign of what he was looking for. He knew that it was around here somewhere, but he didn't have time to wander around. If he wanted to break Franny, then he had to do it quickly, before her friends, the masters, taught her how use her spirit properly.

If she could master her spirit, she might possess the power to stop him. Franny never knew that he was always so cruel to her because he was trying to break her spirit to the point she would never find her inner power. Her inner power was what made him fear her. When he first met her, he saw an energy, a power that radiated off of her. Even back then he was trying to formulate his plan, but it would all be for nothing because of that girl's power.

He figured out that she didn't know a thing about her power, so came up with the plan to break her spirit. As he did more and more cruelty to her, the essence of her inner power dimmed each day. When he had tried to take her innocence, she fought back. She regained some of her spirit when she did that, and he snapped when he saw it. He was so mad that he had unleashed his leopard in rage, and it attacked her with vigor. Her parents had also seen and went to her defense.

After that day he had to run, knowing Franny's parents would sick the cops on him. On the up side of all that he was found by recruiters for the Pai Zuaq academy. There he had learned to control his animal spirit to attack at his will. No one ever expected that he had ill intentions to use his new learned skills for his own agenda. No one even knew who he really was, for he had enter the Order of Claw under a false name; No one questioned it, or him.

Now, unfortunately, everything has changed. He has to move up his plans before Franny can unlock her inner power to its full extent, or all his scheming, all his hard work and patience will be for nothing. He would not let that happen.

"Ah, there you are!" He finally said, a few minutes later. "Now, she and the masters won't stand a chance of stopping me. Ha, ha, ha!"

He then started towards the ancient temple in front of him; the ancient temple of Xia Zulong.

888

**RJ's Loft**

It didn't take long for Dom to get Fran in RJ's chair. Dom knew how territorial RJ was with his chair, but considering all that Fran went through down stairs, added to what they all learned about her past, he was sure that RJ wouldn't say anything. Besides the chair was the most comfortable place in the living/training area of the loft, and everyone knew it.

The other guys had set up cots and put Fran's parents on them. Flit immediately started tending to the wounds that were inflicted on Carla, while Casey tended Roger. The ranger had learned that Flit wasn't just a warrior in the past, but he was a master healer; since the other guys were uncomfortable about tending to a woman, especially Fran's mother, Flit was the one given task of tending to her because of his experience in healing.

The wounds from the attack were minor and non-life threatening; it didn't take very long to clean and medicate the claw marks. Fortunately the leopard wasn't aiming for them; unfortunately it was aiming for Fran. Once Flit finished with Carla's wounds and checked on Roger, he went to examine Fran, but Dom wouldn't hear of it.

"No, Flit. She's fine." Dom adamantly told him.

"Dominic, she used her animal spirit for the first time, without any type of training; I need to make sure that her passing out was only from stress and exhaustion." Flit retorted kindly, yet firmly.

"Let him do his job, Dom." RJ said, walking into the loft after finishing up in the restaurant.

Dom reluctantly let Flit examine Fran, but he watched very closely. If Fran knew that Flit had to remove anything to check her for any wounds, she would've been mortified. Dom knew and respected that Fran was very modest, and he would make sure that others did the same thing. Flit only took a minute or two to examine her, then he stood back and gave a nod to Dom.

"So, Flit, what's the verdict on the patience?" RJ asked, while glancing at Carla and Roger.

"Fran's parents have minor wounds; the leopard's claws only grazed them. They will make a quick recovery. Fran seems to just be tired and stressed; with rest she should wake soon." Flit diagnosed.

As if on a cue, Fran started to stir from her unconscious state. Dom was at her side in an instant; he took her hand in his and gently squeezed it. Fran smiled as she slowly opened her eyes. Dom was never happier than at that moment when he saw her slightly smiling at him. She was just waking up from a fainting spell, but she was still the most beautiful creature on the planet in his eyes.

"Hey, sleepy-head." He said softly, smiling at her a little.

"Hey yourself, Rhino-man." She replied just as softly, returning his smile with one of her own.

"How are you feeling, Fran?" He asked after a moment.

"Exhausted and a bit weak." She responded.

"That's natural, after what happened." Flit answered, breaking whatever spell Dom and Fran where under.

Fran blushed and retreated from Dom a bit, but Dom wouldn't let her have her hand back. She didn't protest, though. Dom backed up a bit to let Fran have a better view of the gang and the loft. Everyone was looking at her with concern, which only reinforced her feelings of inadequacy. Dom felt Fran tense a little through their clasped hands; he gave her hand a little squeeze of comfort, and Fran returned it; she was glad they were still holding hands.

"Fran, what exactly happened down there? You called that student Derek, but Camille said his name was Brock, and then you summoned your animal spirit; when did you learn to do that?" Theo was firing question after question without giving her time to speak.

"Cool it, Theo." Dom demanded, which was very unlike him. "Give Fran time to take a breather, she just woke up from a fainting spell."

"It's okay, Dom." Fran calmly responded. "To answer you Theo, I have no idea how I did that, I didn't even know I could do that. As for Derek… it's a long story." Fran paused when she mentioned Derek.

"A story she doesn't have to tell any of you." Carla growled.

Everyone turned to her and Roger, who had also awoken from a comatose state. Carla was shakily standing, looking ready for a fight. Roger started to stand like his wife, also looking prepared for a battle. Carla had a look so furious, that it almost made RJ cringe in retreat. Flit, ever the professional, went over to help them back onto the cots.

"Please, you're both hurt. Give your bodies time to heal, they're not ready to move around yet." Flit urgently tried to reason with them.

"Nothing will stop us from protecting out charge." Carla growled at Flit, pushing his hands away.

"Your charge!?" Everyone, but Roger exclaimed.

"What you talking about, Mother?" Fran asked.

"We're your protectors, Francis; not your parents." Roger answered solemnly.

"I think everyone has a lot to explain." Lily stepped in, trying to mediate.

"Agreed." RJ said. "Why don't you two start, since Fran looks close to tears?"

She was close to tears; how could these two people, that she has known her whole life, not be her parents. Dom moved so that he was sitting on the arm of RJ's chair and his free hand was now on her shoulder, with his arm around her back, hugging her to his body. Fran, still dazed moved her free hand over the hand he put on her shoulder, but she didn't move it, just held it.

"Very well." Carla nodded and began to story. "It all starts long ago…"

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**Author's note:** **(Cue dramatic music) sorry, cliff-hanger. Also I might not be updating for a little while because of finals, but I promise to keep writing the story and when I get back I will put multiple chapters up. Thank you for all of your support so far, please review. Thanks, Fans!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth

**Author's note: Okay, I'm putting these up sooner than I planned. Here are those chapters I promised. I will not be updating until after Saturday, hope that's ok. Also, my poll is still going on, just click on my profile to get to it. Please read and review.**

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Rise of the Owls

Chapter 5: The Truth

"Very well." Carla nodded and began the story. "It all started long ago, with a being named Dai Shi-"

"Dai Shi believed that animals should rule the world, so he formed an army of animal warriors to cause fear in people to feed his army and become stronger." Fran interrupted, surprising all of them. "Warriors who refused to back down to Dai Shi's will, learned to harness their inner animal; this power is known today as Pai Zuaq. The warriors then fought Dai Shi, managing to seal him away in a sacred box; his army then went underground to wait for his resurrection. The warriors who sealed Dai Shi knew that he would one day return, so they started to teach Pai Zuaq to chosen students. These warriors are known as the founders of the Order of the Claw; they also set the tradition that with each generation three mighty students would be in-trusted with guarding Dai Shi's prison. This tradition has gone on for centuries, until the day Dai Shi escaped. The guardians, who the populist call the power rangers, destroyed Dai Shi over six months ago, and now Dai Shi is no longer a threat."

Fran stopped to take a calming breath. She was able to stay together and hide her anger while she spoke earlier, but she needed a moment to calm down; she could feel herself beginning to become over emotional. Everyone was looking at Fran in shock. Carla and Roger had no idea that she knew so much about Pai Zuaq, or the rangers. The rangers were more shocked that Fran had interrupted Carla's telling of the story. Well, Dom wasn't surprised by the interruption, he understood it. What surprised him was the control that Fran showed as she told the history of the Order; he thought that she would become a bit over whelmed, with everything that she's been through today.

"Everyone here, except me and perhaps you two, are a part of the Order of the Claw." Fran stated, still calm. "Now, if you wouldn't mind; what the hell does that have to do with you not being my parents and needing to protect me?"

Everyone was surprised that Fran had spoken like that, it was very out of character for her. Dom was a little worried about her, Fran has never shown this much anger before. He wanted to calm her down, to take away all of her negative feelings and just fill her up with nothing but good feelings. He hated seeing her like this, if only he could do more than just squeeze her hand comfortingly.

"Shortly after Dai Shi was sealed, another war was happening." Roger picked up. "This war happened in the area of what is now the city of Angle Grove. A being known as Zordon fought the galactic space witch Rita Repulsa. Zordon managed to trap Rita in a cylindrical container and sent it to the moon, but at a cost. Rita trapped Zordon in a time vortex that he could never leave, or risk death. For ten thousand years Rita stayed imprisoned, and then escaped. Zordon called upon the help of five spirited individuals to fight Rita's monsters and protect the earth. These were earth's first power rangers." Roger finished, only for Carla to pick up the story.

"As most of you probably know, not too long after the first five were chosen, a six ranger appeared. This one however, for a short time, was evil. But soon the other rangers saved him and he joined them in their fight. Soon the green ranger powers were depleted to the point they could no longer be used, so Zordon created a new power for the same ranger, just in a different color. The green ranger had become the white ranger." Carla paused to take a breath. "Now this next part is where is gets complicated."

"Then get on with it already." Fran ordered, which again surprised everyone.

"Very well." Carla sighed. "What isn't well known is that the white ranger and the pink ranger fell in love, or that their names were Tommy and Kimberly."

"Then how do you know?" Theo asked when Carla took a breath.

"I'm getting to that." Carla stated. Roger took over the story.

"Once there was an alien named Ivan Ooze. He attacked Angel Grove, and during that attack he destroyed the original power source that gave the rangers their morphing ability. When the power source was destroyed, the rangers went on a quest to obtain a new power. Their quest took them to the planet Phados." Roger stopped and Carla continued.

"On Phados, the rangers unlocked their inner animal as well as the Ninjetti power. Kimberly was the agile pink crane; Tommy was the white falcon, mighty lord of the skies. As you can guess, the quest was successful and they were able to stop Ooze and save Angel Grove once more. Not too long after, however Kimberly passed her powers down to another. She did this so that she could live her dream of going to the Pan Globes; Tommy was very supportive of her and actually told her to take the opportunity given to her. So, Kimberly went to Florida to train and become the best gymnast she could be." Carla stopped and Roger picked up.

"When Kimberly got to Florida, she met us. We were gymnasts trying to get on the same team as Kimberly. We were good, but Kimberly was better by far. She had a set of goals and no one could stop her from getting to them." Roger seemed to be falling into reminiscence, so Carla took over.

"Now, Kimberly would go to visit her friends every now and then; she mostly went to see Tommy. Those two were really going through the long haul for each other." Carla shook her head trying to shake of the memories, so that she could focus. "One day though, when Kimberly came back from one of her visits, she seemed off, unwell. After she fainted during practice Roger and I took her to the hospital. We were her closes friends on the team, so we more than happy to help her however we could; we were worried about her." Roger took over.

"And for good reason; it turns out that Kimberly was pregnant." Roger was interrupted by several gasps. It didn't bother him; he expected them at that point of the story. "It was a shock to us too, but it was even more of a shock to Kimberly. She completely broke down when the doctor told her the news. Carla and I tried to calm her down and told her everything would be alright. We knew Tommy was the father, so we said that she and he would get through it; besides Kimberly always said how she was going to marry her Handsome." At the confused looks he was getting her clarified. "Tommy and Kimberly had pet names for each other; he called her Beautiful and she called him Handsome." Everyone nodded in understanding. Carla decided to take over again.

"Kimberly still didn't calm down. She kept saying how Tommy could never know about the baby. We questioned her, and she broke. She told us everything about her once being a power ranger; how Tommy was still a ranger and the main leader of the team; how much danger the baby would be in if the ranger's enemies ever found out that it existed. We understood her fears, but we told her that she had to tell Tommy, he had a right to know about the baby. Kimberly disagreed and to stop anyone from finding out, she sent Tommy a Dear John letter, ending their relationship." Roger picked up.

"We didn't approve of how she handled things, but we supported her. She had the baby alone, not even we were allowed to be there for her. It was a beautiful baby girl. Kimberly named her very carefully, so no one would suspect that the little girl was Tommy's." Roger paused briefly, and looked Fran in the eyes. "She named the baby, hers and Tommy's little girl, Francis."

Everyone turned to look at Fran in awe and amazement. Fran's eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets. Fran couldn't believe that _she_ was the daughter of two of the original power rangers. Fran shook her head trying to deny everything she was told, but Dom stopped her by squeezing her hand and shoulder gently. Fran looked up at him.

"It makes sense, Fran." Dom said seriously.

"How does that make sense, Dom?" Fran was near hysterics. "It's impossible for me to be the daughter of power rangers."

"Fran, look at me." Dom said gently, taking the hand that held hers and moved it to take her chin, so that her could move her face, making her look him in the eye. "It makes sense because you're the strongest one of us here. You went against Lily when she had a porcupine needle in her, you single handedly ran rush hour after rush hour while we were fighting Dai Shi's soldiers, and you've done so much more that you never got the proper recognition for."

"It's true, Fran." RJ interjected. "You were the one who calmed my animal spirit, when it was making me go wild. I could have really hurt you, but didn't believe that I would. You stayed with me when my spirit transformed me, and you managed to bring me back to myself."

"I was just being a good friend and employee." Fran argued. "Any of you would have done the same, and probably better than I did."

"That's not true, Fran." Dom told her. "None of us could do everything you did better than you; the truth is you did it better than any of us ever could. Fran, you are the most special, most amazing, most incredible person that I have ever known."

"That all of us have ever known." Casey spoke up. "Fran, the first time I tried to morph, couldn't do it; I wasn't comfortable with everything that was trust onto me, but then I saw you being attacked by Rinshi. When I saw that, my tiger roared out and instinct told me how to morph. I was able to morph the first time because of you, Fran. You helped me to morph."

"You helped me to see my feelings for Lily." Theo piped up.

"You got that stupid porcupine needle out of me." Lily chimed in.

"And you convinced me to stay, when I didn't feel accepted by the others and wanted to leave." Dom finished. "Fran, _you_ have done so much more for _us_ than _we_ have ever done for the _city_."

"How is any of that proof that I'm the daughter of power rangers?" Fran questioned.

"It's all the proof needed, Francis." Carla interjected. "According to Kimberly, there wasn't any sacrifice too great that Tommy wouldn't risk to help his friends. You are your father's daughter."

"If Tommy and Kimberly are my real parents, then why didn't they raise me; surely Tommy hung up his morpher at some point?" Fran retorted.

"Tommy and Kimberly never got back together, and she never told him about you." Rodger said solemnly. "There were times she could have told him the truth, but she was too afraid of his anger, for her not telling him, and loosing you for whatever reason."

"There was also an incident when you were still an infant." Carla said. "Kimberly was captured by a space pirate called Divatox; Kimberly was temporarily turned evil. The turbo rangers saved her, but damage was still done. Kimberly kept having nightmares; they became so bad that she couldn't function properly. For your sake, she gave you to us to look after; by this time we were already married so there was no worry about you thinking of us as your parents. However, we knew no one would believe we were your parents, so we some minor plastic surgery done on us so we would look more similar to you. We've raised you since."

"What happened to my birth parents?" Fran asked in a whisper. This was taking a toll in her.

"Kimberly never fully recovered and refused to endanger you, so she stayed away. Tommy never found out about you, and as far as we know he's a high school teacher at Reefside High." Roger answered.

"Where is the part, that you're her protectors?" Camille asked, after a few moments.

"After Francis was attacked by Derek seven years ago, we were visited by Dulcea. Dulcea was the master warrior that the rangers met when they went to unlock there Ninjetti power. She created an astral projection of herself and sent it to us." Carla said. "She told us why Derek attacked Francis the way he did, and more importantly, she told us of an ancient prophecy."

"Prophecy?" Fran questioned. Roger cleared his throat before answering.

"From the Falcon and Crane, a child shall be born; it will grow to be more powerful than the parents; it will stop a great evil, with sacrifice; the child will fall in love with power."

"She said that only Francis has the power to stop a great evil from controlling the world." Carla continued. "She said that Derek was trying to break Francis's spirit so that she wouldn't be able to stop him from unleashing the evil. Apparently, Francis has so much power that it is unknowingly emitting from her body in waves; at least that was the situation seven years ago."

"And now?" Dom asked.

"Dulcea sealed Francis's power, until the time came for her to use it against the evil." Roger answered.

"So, Fran being able to call out her animal spirit means that it's time for her power to be used?" Flit asked.

"According to Dulcea, yes." Carla answered.

Fran couldn't take anymore, stood up and started pacing. She had _no_ clue how to fight evil. She _wasn't_ a power ranger; she didn't even know the basics of fighting. How was she going to fight an evil force, she knew nothing about, all by herself? She couldn't think; she was going into information overload.

Dom watched Fran pace for a few moments. He understood her frustration; it was a lot to take in. He knew she was probably worrying about she was going to fight this unknown evil. Fran had no training in fighting. For some unknown reason, Carla and Roger didn't think of putting Fran in martial art classes, when she was growing up. If they knew she had this big destiny, why not prepare her for it properly? Dom knew what he had to do; he just hoped that Fran wouldn't kill him.

He got off the chair arm and walked over to her. He wrapped Fran in his arms, embracing her; before she could protest though, he took one of his hand, moved it to hold her chin so she was facing him, and kissed her softly on the mouth.

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	6. Chapter 6: Confessions

**Author's note: This chapter is short, sorry. Also it is a bit of a fluff, please don't flame me for it.**

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Rise of the Owl

Chapter 6: Confessions

He got off the chair arm and walked over to her. He wrapped Fran in his arms, embracing her; before she could protest though, he took one of his hand, moved it to hold her chin so she was facing him, and kissed her softly on the mouth.

Fran was surprised for a very small moment, a millisecond long, then she was kissing Dom back. She moved her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss a bit. Dom moved the hand at her chin to her back. They kept the kiss soft and non-demanding; it was just meant to tell one another of how much they love each other.

The others remained quiet, while the two of them kissed. Carla and Roger both had their mouths agape; they couldn't believe that Fran was actually _kissing_ someone. RJ just smirked while watching the whole thing; he knew those two would get together one day, he just always thought it would have been way before Dai Shi was defeated; he was more surprised that Dom hadn't asked Fran out when the two first met than the two of them kissing in the middle of his loft. Lily, and surprising Camille, were silently gushing at the two; they both thought that Dom and Fran made a cute couple. Casey, Theo, Flit, and Jarrod were trying very hard not to cheer and shout out their acceptance of the new couple.

They didn't break from the kiss until breathing became a necessity. When they broke they gazed in the other's eye for a moment, both with small smiles on their faces. They both couldn't believe that their dreams of being together were starting to come true. It was enough to make them want to kiss again, but Dom had to get something of his chest, otherwise Fran would go crazy trying to figure it out on her own.

"Fran, you mean the world to me. You're the real reason that I stayed to help fight Dai Shi. I wanted to stay with you, to stay by your side. I've had these feelings for a while; I actually asked you to come to Europe with me so that we could stay together, and get to know each other better and closer to one another." Dom said sincerely.

"Dom-" Fran was cut off by Dom putting a finger over lips.

"Please, let me finish." Dom waited for Fran to nod, then he moved his finger off her lips. "Fran, I know you're scared right now; you have every right to be. A lot has just happened, and you're not sure who to deal with it, but you don't have to figure it out on your own. I'm here for you, Fran; no matter what I'm with you. Fran, I'm scared too; scared that I might lose you at any moment. I was trying to let you decide how to take our relationship, so you wouldn't be as scared as you probably are now, but with everything that I learned today I can't wait any more. What I learned today, showed me just how strong you really are, and made me love you even more. I love you, Fran, with all of my heart; please tell me there's a chance for us to be together?" Dom finished his speech. He even nodded to Fran so she would know he was done. She smiled at him.

"Dom, I have felt the same way. When I thought you were going to Europe alone, I was devastated. Then you came back and asked me to go with you; I couldn't believe it. My heart beat just would slow down, just like it won't now. Dom, when I first saw you in the pizza pallor, pretending to be an inspector, I was already in love with you. I fell even more in love when I found out that you liked to read books as much as I did." Dom smiled brighter and she giggled. "When I thought you were leaving the first time, the day you saved me from being crushed, I was so mad at the others, minus RJ." This time they both gave little laughs. "I couldn't believe that they wouldn't let you on the team because you has some quirks. Who doesn't these days? I mean, did they _not_ meet RJ?" They were in full out laughter this time. "I love you so much, Dom, and I would be so happy to give _us_, a chance."

Fran and Dom smiled at each other, then kiss one another again. The kiss was still soft, but it was conveying more feelings this time. It was like they were celebrating their love, and couldn't wait to show the world what they were made of, when together.

RJ gave them another moment, before he cleared his throat. They broke their kiss and looked to the other, both blushing so much, that they were the color of tomatoes. Carla and Roger still had their mouths agape. Everyone else was smirking at them knowingly.

"So," RJ began in a teasing voice. "What was that you were saying about quirks and people, and the others _not_ meeting me, Fran?"

Fran blushed even more and everyone, except Carla and Roger, laughed. Dom just took her in his arms again and kissed her again, and she reciprocated. This day had finally gotten a whole lot better.

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	7. Chapter 7: The Evil Arises

**Author's note: I was asked two very good questions; the answer to both being you'll have to wait and see what happens. (Cue maniacal laughter here)**

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 7: The Evil Arises

**Ancient Temple of Xia Zulong**

Derek made his way through the temple with ease. His training with Pai Zuaq, he had to admit, helped him in preparing for the temple a great deal. Now he was in the throne room, moving towards the golden throne carefully. He knew that one false step and he was dead.

As he moved, his foot caught on a slightly elevated rock on the floor and tripped; he landed, face first on the ground, just in front of the throne. He waited for a moment for a trap to be triggered; none were. He quickly got up and sat on the throne. He could feel the power of darkness coming over him, but he knew the power would never become complete if he didn't release Xia Zulong.

Derek closed his eyes and looked deep inside himself, for the darkness that was deep within his heart. Once he felt the darkness, he opened his eyes and forced the darkness to engulf his very being. When he was covered with his dark aura, he released it to go through the entire temple.

"Dark master, I willingly give you my servitude. Arise and become whole once more; rule the world with your power, and destroy all who get in your way of conquest." Derek chanted.

When the chant ended, the floor started to sink. Derek didn't move from his position; he remained immobile, keeping his stance. When the floor stopped sinking, Derek found himself in front of a door. The door looked like one that could be found at crypts in cemeteries. Derek felt power emanating from behind the door, so he walked towards the door and opened it. He found a golden sarcophagus on a stone petastile.

He walked to it, and opened it with his dark power. When the lid of the sarcophagus was off, the temple started to shake. As the temple shook, Derek was engulfed with black smoke, and he soon fell unconscious. Unbeknownst to him however, it wasn't just the temple that was shaking; the whole city was shaking.

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**RJ's Loft**

As everyone was recovering from the moment of the new couple's declaration for each other, they felt the shaking of the earth. Dom and Fran hanged on to one another; everyone else was trying to stay on their feet. During the quake, the alarm system went off; the monitors were showing the whole city shaking in multiple areas. After a moment the shaking stopped, but the alarms were still blaring.

Everyone turn to the monitors, seeing the city being attacked by mutated Rinshi. The uniforms were the same black, but where there used to be brown there was now crimson red. Their faces were the same; their bodies however, had tails and claws. Also, their movements were more animalistic, rather than the usual Rinshi bouncing. They were carrying weapons that looked like spears, but the ends were shaped more like katana blades, than sharpened edges.

"What are those things because they certainly aren't Rinshi?" Lily asked.

"I'm not sure, but we got to stop them from destroying the city." RJ answered.

"What if Derek comes back for Fran? We can't leave her here without a way for her to protect herself against him." Dom argued.

"Dom, I'll be fine." Fran interjected. "The city needs you more than I do. Derek won't be coming back so soon after surprising him like that."

"Fran-" Dom tried to speak, but Fran interrupted him with a kiss.

"Don't argue with me, Dom; there isn't any time, now go save the city." Fran commanded him lovingly, ending with another kiss.

"She's right, Dom. Let's go!" Casey exclaimed.

One by one Casey, Lily, Theo, RJ, Flit, Camille, Jarrod and (hesitantly) Dom grabbed a vine and leaped to the tunnel that lead to the city. Fran looked at Carla and Roger, they were giving her confused looks. She ignored them and watched the monitors as her friends and Dom appeared.

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**In the City at the Attack**

The rangers and Pai Zuaq warriors arrived, seeing the true extent of what these beasts have already done, and were continuing to do to the city. They couldn't believe the destruction; these foot soldiers weren't showing any mercy.

"I can't believe that they've done this much damage already!" Theo yelled over the chaos to be heard.

"Well, let's stop them from doing anything more!" Casey exclaimed.

With the order given, they all went into action. Each of them took on their own group of soldiers; they did not do well. Within moments Lily, Casey, Theo, and Flit were taken down; soon, Camille and Jarrod fell; the last to be defeated were RJ and Dom. The team was slightly weakened from their fights, but they weren't giving up that easily.

With a nod from Casey, the rangers morphed, Jarrod and Camille transformed, and Flit took out some small throwing daggers. Once morphed, the three primary colored rangers summoned the spirit rangers. After the spirit rangers were summoned, they went into jungle master mode. The fearsome looking ranger army were ready for battle.

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**RJ's Loft**

Back at the loft, Fran couldn't believe what she was seeing. After trying to fight the soldiers in civilian form, the team had not only gotten battle ready by morphing, but they also brought out the big artillery. Fran knew that wasn't a good sign; they never would have done that all at once, unless they had no other choice. Fran could just watch this anymore; sitting on the side lines while she knew that people that she cared about were struggling in battle. She silently started to walk away from the monitors and out of the room.

"Francis, where are you going?" Carla questioned, seeing Fran's retreat.

"I need to wash my face and clear my head." Fran replied without turning around. "I'll be back in a minute."

With that, Fran walked towards the loft's bathroom. Carla was suspicious, but didn't dwell on it; if there was another way out of the loft, Fran would have to get pass her and Roger first, or that was what she thought. Roger didn't pay attention to the women; he was too engaged with watching the events that were happening to the monitors. Soon, Carla was just as enthralled with the monitors as her husband. The both of them were so focused on the monitors, that neither of them noticed when a figure's shadow went by the loft's windows; it was going in the direction of the fire escape that lead to the alley near the entrance of Jungle Karma Pizza.

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**At the Battle**

The rangers were fighting the soldiers, faring a lot better than they did before, but it didn't last long. They were getting tired, and there were just too many soldiers to defeat them all. They were tempter to combine their power to take down as many as possible before they collapsed from exhaustion.

Before they could combine their power however, a maniacal laughter echoed over the battle field. The soldiers stepped aside and allowed the laughing figure into view. The rangers were only slightly shocked to see that the figure was Derek, but Dom saw that there was something different about Derek than before. Derek seemed to have dark power pouring out of him; that wasn't happening before.

"Well, Rangers, how do you like my army of Kairai?" Derek said in a dark voice.

The rangers knew that something happened to him; his voice did not sound as dark and gravelly earlier. That's when it hit Jarrod that this wasn't Derek; Derek was just a vessel now, like he had been for Dai Shi. The question: who was in possession Derek's body now?

"You're not Derek." Jarrod said. "Who are you?"

"Very good, Lion warrior." 'Derek' praised. "Derek is just a vessel, but you already guessed that. I am Dai Shi's brother, Xia Zulong!" he exclaimed. "And you all will pay for destroying my brother. Kairai, attack!"

"No!" A voice sounded; a very familiar voice. "Your brother was a monster, and chose his fate; they were left with no choice. I will not allow you to hurt them."

Everyone was shocked to see Fran standing at the side of the battle. Dom's heart clenched; he didn't want her here, she would get hurt or worse. He couldn't lose her, not when he just got her. Fran started walking towards the middle of the two warring sides, trying to block her friends from harm. She stared hard at the new evil that the rangers had to face; the new evil that _she_ would have to face.

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	8. Chapter 8: The First Battle

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 8: The First Battle

"Well, if it isn't little Franny. What brings you out to play?" Xia Zulong smirked.

"I'm here to stop you." Fran exclaimed, taking as best a battle ready stance as she was able with her inexperience.

"Fran, what are you doing!?" Dom exclaimed.

Fran didn't answer him, she couldn't; if she did, she might back out of this. She was terrified from her head to her toes. She had no idea how to fight; the closes she has come to fighting is nearly hitting Theo in the head with a pizza-paddle while she and Dom were playing pizza-dough baseball. She wanted to run, but she wouldn't. Xia Zulong was attacking the city because of her; he was fighting her friends because they were trying to protect her, but no more. She was going to face this head on; she just couldn't keep aside watching them get her; if anything happened to them, she would never be able to forgive herself, especially Dom.

"You want to hurt anymore people, Xia Zulong, you have to go through me first." Fran said in such a serious tone, that the team was questioning what came over her to act like this.

"With pleasure." Xia Zulong said.

He charged at her, throwing a punch towards her head. Fran backed up a bit, dodging his punch. She then went on the offensive, moving her foot to behind his knee and thrusting towards herself, bringing him off balance. Then she moved herself back slightly to reestablish her footing, and before he could retaliate at her, she round house kicked him in the face. He fell to the ground, bracing himself with his hands. Fran quickly backed away three big steps, remaining in her battle stance, readying for retaliation.

If most of the team's faces weren't behind helmets, then their gaped mouths would be seen. The whole team couldn't believe that Fran, shy and timid Fran, had just done that. None of them would ever have thought that Fran could fight like that without any training. They all may have been surprised by her natural fighting ability, but Dom was more surprised by how she seemed to transform into a whole different person; he thought it was rather hot, seeing Fran fight like that made him fall in love with her even more.

Xia Zulong, was very shocked that Franny was able to put him on his back. She actually was able to put him on his back. She was a natural fighter and he _didn't_ like it. His vessel was supposed to break her, not let her get stronger. He had to take her down fast, or he would never succeed in avenging his brother and taking over the world.

He flipped up off the ground and got in a battle ready stance. Then he unleashed the leopard spirit. The great cat was rushing toward her, but Fran couldn't move. She tried to call upon her spirit, but for some reason her spirit wouldn't come forth; she knew running was useless, so she moved her body so that was in a position that said she was willing sacrificing herself to protect everyone. Her arms were out and her body straight; she closed her eyes and waited for the end.

No one knew what Fran was up to, but they knew they didn't like it. Dom was panicking, and started to run to Fran to get her out of the way; he wasn't going to make it. Before the leopard hit its target, a giant blue wolf appeared out of nowhere and knocked the black leopard away from Fran. Then a figure in blue ninja garb came out of nowhere, like the wolf, and hit Xia Zulong with so much force that he went ten feet back, hitting the ground. The ninja took a stance, ready to fight.

"This isn't over, Franny, not by a long shot. I'll be back and soon." Xia Zulong hissed, then he and the Kairai disappeared in a large puff of dark smoke.

The blue ninja dropped its stance, and turned to face the rangers and Fran. RJ dropped his morph and walked to the ninja. The two of them grasped one another's arm and shook them in greeting. The others dropped their morph as well and waited for RJ to explain, except Dom. Dom ran right to Fran and embraced her; she returned it. They stayed like that for a while, especially since they thought they were going to lose each other.

"Guys, I want you to meet the man behind your morphers." RJ addressed the team. The two men gave a few seconds to Fran and Dom, before RJ interrupted. The team walked over, Dom with an arm around Fran. "Let me introduce my wolf brother."

The blue ninja did a few hand signals than the ninja garb was gone. Where the blue ninja had bee, now stood a man with blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, blue jeans, white sneakers, and thin framed glasses. He looked at each one of them, but his gaze stopped on Fran. His expression showed that he was awed and confused at the same time.

"Salutations, everyone." He said, sounding highly intelligent, but not snobbish or trying to rub it in. "I'm Billy, Billy Cranston.


	9. Chapter 9: Pink Fury

**Author's note: Sorry it took so long for the update. My sleep patterns have become weird lately. Anyway thank you, everyone who has been reading the fic, I love you; all who have left reviews, big thanks, I love seeing those wonderful reviews! For all of the loyalty I have been receiving, I'm going to try to put multiple chapters up next update, but no promises. Now on with the story.**

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Rise of the Owl

Chapter 9: Pink Fury

**RJ's Loft**

The team and their guest could stay in the open, so they moved to the loft. RJ was in his chair; Dom and Fran were cuddled next to each other on the stairs that led to the loft's kitchen area; Billy was standing next to RJ and the chair; everyone else was scattered all over the training area. Carla and Roger were trying to look invisible, so that Billy wouldn't notice them there, but he did; Billy just didn't know who they were and why they were there.

Fran had so many questions for Billy; judging on her 'parents'' reaction to him, Billy knew her biological parents, meaning he could tell her a lot about them. Dom knew how excited Fran was now; he knew she wanted to know about her real parents, and he couldn't blame her; if her were in her position, he would be just as eager. But Dom also knew that he cuddling with her was keeping her calm, which they both needed to be right now, since they nearly lost each other. RJ broke the long silence that had surrounded them all far longer than he liked for his tastes.

"I know you're all curious, as to why Billy is here." RJ said in a thoughtful tone. "I asked Billy to do a favor for me, though I'm a little surprised that it took him this long to complete it."

"You asked me to-" Billy started, but RJ cut him off.

"I know what I asked, Billy. I'm just wondering why it took so much longer than the others."

"Others?" Casey inquired. He knew RJ was up to something, he usually was.

"I have something for Fran." RJ said, getting up from his chair and walking over to the cabinet that was dubbed by the rangers as the 'morpher cabinet' because that's where RJ kept all of their morphers at one point. He opened the cabinet, and took out a jungle fury training uniform that all the rangers wore, except that this one was pink. "Fran it's time for you to join in the battle aspect of fighting evil."

"Absolutely not!" Carla shouted. "I will not let Francis become one of you. She'll get hurt; she doesn't know how to fight at all."

Fran moved out of Dom's arms, and walked to Carla. She then slapped Carla across the face. Everyone gasped; since when did Fran slap people? Fran's face looked solemn, but Dom could tell that she was furious; her eyes were smoldering with pure anger. Once Fran was sure she had Carla's (and Roger's) attention, she let her anger lose.

"You have no right to say I can't be a ranger!" Fran bellowed. "Being a ranger is not something that you can choose to be or not be. When this evil arrived, I was _chosen_ to be a ranger. Xia Zulong is most likely the evil I'm supposed to defeat, and if I have to become a ranger to do it then I will. Furthermore, it's both of your faults that I don't know how to fight. If you had put me in martial arts classes when I was growing up, then it wouldn't as big of a problem as it really is. Now, because you two were so coddling, I have to work and train ten times as hard as everyone else because I'm so far behind in fighting knowledge and experience. So don't you _dare_ yell at RJ _or_ the others when you have _no one_ to blame, but yourselves." Fran took a breath without being prompted and turned to RJ with a nod; he got the hint.

"I had these prepared after Dom joined the team, when we were still fighting Dai Shi. I thought that we might need some more power just in-case, but we never did. However, now with this new threat, it's obvious that we _do_ need more power. Fran, this uniform was always meant to be yours. I figured what you did not know, you could learn from us, and you still can. Are you ready to be a ranger, Fran?" RJ finished.

"I don't know if I'm ready, but I'm willing to find out if I am." Fran replied.

She took the uniform, and went to the bathroom to change quickly. Billy brought out a box, with the symbol of Pai Zuaq on it. Everyone knew what was in it. When Fran came out, Dom fell off the stairs from shock. The uniform was very fitting on Fran, showing all right her curves, yet it was lose enough to exercise and work-out in. Fran saw Dom fall over and giggled slightly; it was kind of funny that she could make Dom do that by just changing into a uniform. She went over to help him up, but he just dragged her down, and started kissing her like crazy, and of course Fran joined in.

Everyone's eyes were bulging; they couldn't believe that _Fran_ was showing public displays of affection. She was so shy, it was hard for them to actually believe what they were seeing. Dom must have brought out something out of Fran because no one had ever seen Fran like this. Soon, the couples make out session was getting to be too much for the rest of the people in the loft, so RJ cleared his throat very loudly to interrupt them.

However, they kept it up; they were in their own little world. When Fran moved to straddle Dom's waist, it was time for a less tactful approach. Billy went over to the kitchen, and grabbed a cup of water. He then went over to the making out couple, and poured the water over them. The water broke the spell, and both Fran and Dom pulled apart to glare at Billy. Billy just shrugged it off and put the, now empty cup, on the table that was next to RJ's chair.

"How did you know that would work?" Theo asked. He didn't think that throwing water on them would actually work.

"Two of my best friends made out a lot when they were dating." Billy said. "The only way to get them to stop making out, apart from a monster attack, was throwing water on them."

"Tommy and Kimberly?" Fran asked. She was finally going to learn more about her parents.

"Affirmative, but how did you know?" Billy questioned, raising an eyebrow to.

"It's a long story." Fran replied. She couldn't just tell him; he might go into shock.

"Well now that that's taken care of." RJ said with enthusiasm. "Fran, you need one more thing." He took the box that was still in Billy's hand, and opened it, revealing the contents to Fran.

Fran gingerly reached out and took the pink solar morpher from the box. Fran's morpher looked just like the primary colored rangers' morphers; probably for simplicity's sake. Fran put her morpher in the pocket of her uniform; she still couldn't believe that she was a power ranger. She only hoped that she did a good job, and not let anyone down; lives were depending on her now.

"When do I start my training, RJ?" Fran asked; she knew she was in desperate need of training.

"Well Dom can start you off with the basics, while I talk to Billy." RJ replied.

Dom and Fran both nodded, and went right to work on her training. Everyone cleared the area, so that they would have enough room. After a few hours, Fran had most of the basic katas down. She was quickly learning, and Dom was impressed. Most beginners got frustrated when they could do the steps right, but Fran was able to do a lot of them correctly from her first try.

When RJ and Billy came back from down stairs, Billy looked at Fran like she was a different person, one that he knew. Fran could tell by his face that RJ had told him who she was; she was a little upset that RJ did that, but she understood why he did. RJ knew it was difficult for Fran to believe, never mind telling someone else that she was the daughter of the first power couple.

"Well we have all had a long day." RJ said. "We should get some rest. Fran we can continue with your training tomorrow, after some well-deserved rest."

"Alright, RJ." Fran answered. "But, we start first thing tomorrow."

"Deal." RJ agreed.

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**Next Day: RJ's Loft**

Fran was the first one up, which surprised her. She shrugged it off, and walked to the kitchen to get breakfast ready. When everyone else woke up, they were surprised to see that on the table in the kitchen was a full spread breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon, orange juice, cereal, toast with jam, and even hot cocoa was on the table, enough for everyone. When RJ asked who made breakfast, everyone was looking around to see the one person not gathered at the table, Fran.

Fran was sitting on the work-out mats, meditating. Fran had already eaten and was finishing her meditation, when everyone gathered in the kitchen. She was starting her mourning stretches, preparing for the training day, when everyone turned to her. She just gave a small smile, and continued with her stretches. She was glad to have made them breakfast, she knew they would appreciate it; she just figured that it was easier for her to make everyone breakfast, that way she could start her training once the others had finished eating there breakfast.

Everyone ate in silence, enjoying Fran hard work; she did a great job with breakfast. They all watched her go through her katas; she was doing quite well. When she finished with the katas she already knew, she tried to mix some of the katas together, changing the order of the katas she had done. Everyone was impressed with her determination with her training; Fran has always been so care-free, but Xia Zulong on the loose, she's had to change; it wasn't fair to her at all.

When breakfast was eaten, they dishes were put in the sink and Flit, Jarrod and Camille did the dishes. Theo, Casey and Lily went to get ready for opening the restaurant. Dom, RJ, Billy, Carla and Roger stayed in the loft and watched Fran for a little longer. She was doing a great job, and showing her dedication to her training with every kata that she went through. The three rangers that were present couldn't help but feel pride for Fran; she was gaining confidence and showing her promise as a ranger. She was going to be a great pink ranger; they knew it.

"Ok, Fran, let's start with some more advanced technics." RJ said, getting ready to demonstrate.

Fran only nodded and paid attention to RJ's movements. When RJ finished showing Fran what he wanted her to do, she was working through them. It only took a half hour for Fran to get the movements down. Then she started to combine the movements with the katas that Dom taught her yesterday. RJ was impressed that Fran didn't need much instruction; she just started combining the movements with the katas without being asked.

After an hour or so of Fran training, the alarms went off. The other three jungle fury rangers came running in the loft and over to the monitors. When they all saw a monster attacking the city they all turned to Fran. She nodded to them with a determined look on her face. Then one by one the rangers grabbed a vine and went through the tunnel. Jarrod, Flit and Camille were left to run the pizza pallor. Carla and Roger would watch the battle on the monitors. Billy after making a quick communications call, went to the location of the battle to meet his company.

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**In the City at the Battle**

The team of jungle fury rangers arrived; they started to fight the Kairai. Eventually, everyone but Fran had to morph to keep the foot soldiers at bay. They were amazed that Fran hadn't morphed yet, and she was fairing quite well against the Kairai. Who would have thought that after a few hours of training that Fran could take down a group of Kairai without morphing.

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**Just a Few Yards from the Battle on a Rooftop**

Billy was in his ninjetti garb, watching the battle. All the rangers were fighting in morph, except for Fran. Billy shook his head; he wasn't surprised she hadn't morphed yet. Soon. Billy heard someone behind him, and he turned to see five ninjetti in full garb; all five colors that he expected were there: black, yellow, red, white, and pink.

"Glad you could all make it." Billy smiled at them.

"Good to see you, man." The red clad ninjetti said. "But I can't help but wonder, why did you call us here?"

"Look down there." Billy said turning back to the battle.

The other ninjetti all moved closer to Billy and saw the battle that was happening. They saw the jungle fury ranger fighting with everything they had, but what caught all of their eyes, was the figure clad in pink, who was not morphed. They were amazed that she could fight off those foot soldiers without having to morph like the others had. Then the monster attacked the rangers, after they had finished off the last of the foot soldiers.

"You pathetic rangers think you defeat me, Gazelza!?" The monster bellowed.

"You're going down!" The girl in pink exclaimed, pointing at the beast.

"What is a defenseless girl like you going to do? You can't even call your animal spirit." The monster laughed.

"You'll see how defenseless I am." She said. She then proceeded to take, what looked like pink sun glasses, out of her pocket, and placed them on her face, over her glasses. She then did movements that would out with her morphing, and did her morph. "Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" She exclaimed.

Then before everyone's eyes, the girl in pinked, had morphed into a ranger. Her uniform was similar to that of the yellow ranger's, except where there were cheetah markings on the yellow rangers there were marking that would be found on an owl. Her helmet looked like an owl head with little divots strategically placed to look like feathers. Also her ranger uniform was pink. The only thing on her uniform that was the same as all the other rangers was the claw symbol on her chest.

"With the wisdom of an owl, Jungle Fury Pink Ranger." She proclaimed.

"That's impossible! You can't be a ranger! Master's vessel destroyed your spirit!" the monster screamed. Obviously, she was surprised.

"Well it would seem that it isn't impossible." The pink ranger replied. "Now, to take you down. Jungle Sais!" When she called out her weapon two dagger sized weapons appeared; they each had three pointed prawned ends that made them look like mini tridents.

The pink ranger then went into immediate action. She charged at the monster, striking the beast with her one of her Sais with each blow she dealt. Once the monster was weakened from her repeated blows, was when the pink ranger told the others to finish it off. The brought out some type of cannon, and once they powered it up, they fired hitting the monster with a head on blast.

The monster was destroyed, but then it grew thirty feet tall. Fran didn't know how to call her animal spirit into a zord yet, so the other rangers fought the monster with their zords. It was a struggle, but the rangers were able to defeat Gazelza. The rangers went to meet the pink ranger and they all embraced and cheered to their victory. That's when Billy jumped off the building, and moved toward the rangers; his fellow ninjetti followed him, knowing that there was a reason for him to do so.

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**With the Rangers after the Battle**

The Rangers demorphed, and Dom went and pulled Fran into a deep kiss. The others just rolled their eyes; they have gotten used to it, and it was only yesterday that they started acting like this. Soon, the couple pulled apart and Dom was hugging Fran.

"Fran, you were incredible. I can't believe how you took that thing down." Dom said, impressed.

"I didn't do alone, Dom. We all did it as a team." Fran said, giving credit where it was due.

"Maybe, but you were still awesome." Dom said, then he bent down to her ear and said softly, "Not to mention incredibly smoking hot."

Fran was blushing a shade of red that would match Casey's ranger suit. The others just laughed; it was nice seeing some things about Fran hadn't changed. That's when they all turned to see Billy in his ninjetti garb. He lowered the mask shroud that was covering his mouth and smiled at all of them.

"Nice to see your adjustment to being a ranger is going smoothly, Fran." Billy said.

"Thanks, Billy." Fran smiled back at him. "Thanks for my morpher too."

"Thank RJ; he's the one who insisted that I make it for you." Billy replied.

"You're welcome, Fran." RJ said, proudly; he was proud of Fran's accomplishments so far.

"I want you all to meet some of my friends." Billy said to the rangers, in a slight business tone. That's when the jungle fury rangers noticed the five other figures dressed like Billy, but in different colors. They took their mask shrouds down, like Billy did, again trusting him. "In black we have Adam Park; barer of the frog spirit, in yellow Aisha Campbell; barer of the bear spirit, in red Rocky De Santos; barer of the Ape spirit," Billy paused as everyone's focus went on to the white and pink ninjetti. "And lastly in pink and white we have Kimberly-Ann Hart and Tommy Oliver; bearers of the Crane spirit and Falcon spirit respectfully."

When Fran heard the names of her biological parents, her eyes widened. Then she did the most logical action for a moment like this; she fainted.

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**Author's note: Tell me what you think, I love hearing those reviews. Thanks fans.**


	10. Chapter 10: Family Reunion

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 10: Family Reunion

**In the City: After the Battle**

Dom caught Fran before she hit the ground. Everyone gathered closer as he held his girlfriend; they were worried about. Dom understood there concerns; she had passed out after fighting in the battle, that's not why she fainted. Dom knew it wasn't exhaustion that caused Fran to pass-out; it was being introduced to Kimberly and Tommy that made her faint.

"Is she alright?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, we just need to get back to the loft." Dom said. So to the loft they all went.

**RJ's loft**

When the rangers and ninjetti entered the loft, Carla and Roger were by the group's side in an instant. Dom carried Fran over to RJ's chair, gently placing her in it. Before anyone could say a word, Camille, Flit and Jarrod came up the stairs from the restaurant. They all looked tired and sore. It was actually funny to see; three kunfu warriors ready to collapse after running a pizza pallor for a few hours. They slumped down on the steps to the workout area of the loft.

"That was the most brutal experience ever." Camille groaned.

"Fighting Dai Shi was less exhausting." Jarrod agreed.

"And there were three of us to handle it!" Flit whined. "I don't know how Fran was able to do it all by herself."

The other two nodded; the three of them had a new found respect for Fran, now that they experienced a piece of what she did whenever the other rangers had to go off to battle. Casey was trying to hold back a snicker; three warriors, who had been through the most intensive training imaginable, were tired because of running the pizza pallor during one of the many rushes. That's when the three warriors looked up to see many faces looking at them amused. While looking at all of the different faces, the three zeroed in on the unconscious form of Fran. All three shot right up from their perch and hurried over to Fran.

"Not again!?" Flit exclaimed as he checked Fran for vitals and wounds.

"No." Dom said, taking deep breaths while clenching his fists. "She just fainted, Flit; you can stop examining her now."

"Was it the battle?" Flit asked.

"Later, Flit." Dom said with a tone that left no room for argument. Flit just nodded.

"How did she do?" Camille asked, looking at Fran worriedly.

"Amazing!" Casey exclaimed. "She didn't even morph, until the monster started to fire at us. She took down the Kairai in civilian form."

"She did that?" Jarrod asked, amazed.

Everyone who saw the battle nodded. The eyes of the three, who had not seen the battle, bulged big and wide. They looked at Fran as she began to stir; is there anything she _can't_ do that would surprise them. Fran had many great talents, there was no denying that. Fran's eyes slowly opened; the first thing she saw was Dom's brilliant blue eyes.

"Hey, Rhino-boy." She said with a small smile on her face.

"Hey, to you too, sleepyhead." Dom replied with an answering smile.

Fran slowly sat up more, while rubbing her head. She was getting a headache from all of these fainting spells. If Fran wasn't a virgin, she would start thinking she was pregnant, but she knew better. She looked at Dom once more, and they gave each other a small soft kiss. When they pulled apart, Fran looked to the people around them. She saw that they were all in the loft, and that she was back in RJ's chair.

"Sorry about taking your chair again, boss man." Fran said, sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, Fran. Just glad that you're alright." RJ said, caringly.

"Francis?" Carla asked. Everyone turned to her; Fran gave a nod, showing that Carla and Roger had her attention. "You were incredible out there. I'm so proud of you, sweetheart."

"You have really grown, Francis." Roger said, agreeing with his wife.

"Thank you, both." Fran simply said. She wasn't ready to forgive them yet.

"Carla? Roger?" Kimberly asked in shock. She hadn't seen them since she gave them her daughter to take care of.

Carla and Roger turned to Kimberly. Both of their eyes widened, from both shock and fear. The shock of seeing her again after all these years; the fear that she would take Francis from them. They had raised Francis as their own child; in their eyes Francis was their true daughter.

"Kimberly?" Carla questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"I got a call from an old friend, saying that I needed to come to Ocean Bluff. What are you two doing here?" Kim replied.

"We live in Ocean Bluff." Roger responded.

"Well, there seems to be an enormous conundrum here." Billy said, clearing his throat.

"Speak English, Billy; we don't have a universal Billy translator." Rocky said, sounding confused by Billy's words. Known the guy for years and he still couldn't understand half the words that he says.

"Billy means it's time for Kimberly to come clean and tell the truth." RJ responded. Fran gave RJ a small smile as thanks; she was glad that he was on her side.

"The truth about what?" Tommy asked.

"The Dear John letter she sent you when you were the red zeo ranger." Billy answered.

Everyone stared at Kimberly; she couldn't believe that everything was unraveling. She thought she would never have to tell Tommy about the baby, their baby, that she had. She hadn't seen baby girl since she said good-bye after Divatox kidnapped her and Jason. She looked at Tommy and she saw the hurt in his eyes; Jason told her how hurt Tommy had been, after receiving that letter. She didn't want to break his heart, but she had to do what she thought was best for the baby at the time; she also didn't want him to make a life-long commitment to her because she was pregnant with his child. He had important responsibilities back then, adding a baby to the equation would have just added complications to his already complicated life; at least that's what she had been telling herself for all these years.

"Kim, what is he talking about?" Tommy asked, fighting to keep his voice level.

"I lied to you Tommy. There was never another guy." Kim said, fighting the tears threatening to come out.

"Then why, Kim? Why did you write that letter?" Tommy said, his voice slightly more stern than he meant to have it.

"It's complicated." Kim said hesitantly, looking at the floor.

"Alright, there is a lot of explaining to do by many parties, so I suggest anyone who doesn't have a contribution to the conversation goes down stairs to the pizza pallor and have some pizza." Fran said being the voice of reason for the matter; she understood a need for privacy when she saw one.

Rocky and Adam were going to argue when Aisha started to herd them to the stairs, but Billy shook his head at them and went with them down stairs. The jungle fury team including Flit, Camille and Jarrod, followed them down. Soon all who were left were Carla, Roger, Kimberly, Tommy, Fran and Dom. Fran looked at Dom and motioned with her head for him to follow the others. Dom raised his brow, but Fran just smiled and kissed him gently. After they parted, Dom put his hand on her cheek softly; Fran put her hand over his and nodded. The two were having a quick silent conversation that ended with Dom giving a small nod and a kiss on Fran's forehead. He then proceeded to go down stairs with the others.

"Now, Kimberly, you have something to tell Tommy?" Fran asked. She put her sentence in question form, but she was really telling Kim she had to tell Tommy.

"There wasn't any guy, Tommy, but I did have a reason for sending the letter." Kim began. Fran gave Tommy a sign that told him to wait till she finished. "I was pregnant, Tommy; with your child." Kim paused looking at Tommy; he looked gob-smacked. "I wrote the letter to keep the baby safe. You were still a ranger, and I knew that if King Mondo found out that you had a child he would try to use that child against you. Sending you that letter insured that you wouldn't come looking for me demanding answers. I was trying to protect our daughter Tommy."

"The baby was a girl?" Tommy asked after a moment.

"Yes." Kim said, nodding. "She was beautiful, and she looked so much like you. I named her Francis; that way no one would question if she were yours. You would never allow your daughter to be named Francis." Kim said smiling slightly.

"True." Tommy said, nodding. "What do you three have to do with this?" He asked, looking at Carla, Roger and Fran.

"My husband and I are the ones who raised your daughter." Carla whispered.

"What?" Tommy questioned, turning to Kimberly.

"After Divatox kidnapped me and Jason, I had nightmares from being evil that short time. I was afraid what might happen to Francis if she stayed with me, so I gave her to Carla and Roger to raise, since they were with me through my whole pregnancy." Kim said. "Tommy when I found out I was pregnant, Roger and Carla were with me, they helped me get through it all; It only made sense that if I wanted to keep our daughter from the ranger world, then I had to give her to people I trusted with her well-being. I told them about me being a ranger, and you still being a ranger. I knew they would be able to care for her."

"I understand you were trying to protect our daughter, but why not just ask me to help you. I went through those nightmares before, Kim, remember; I was the first evil power ranger. I'm still living with the guilt of nearly destroying you and the others." Tommy said, trembling from aggravation

"I thought that the nightmares would be easier to handle if I took care of them myself." Kim solemnly said.

"I understand you doing what you believed was right, but if you knew the destiny that your child had, then you might have thought better of your actions." Fran said.

"What do you mean?" Kim demanded.

"Carla and Roger were visited by a projection of Dulcea, the night you were taken by Divatox. She told them of a prophecy that says that the child of the Falcon and the Crane would be the key to defeating a great evil." Fran said, before she could finish, she was interrupted.

"You two never told me about that." Kim said to the husband and wife.

"They didn't want to worry you. However, instead of putting Francis in martial arts classes or even gymnastics, they forced her to broaden her mind with books. And when she was attacked seven years ago they did nothing to comfort her, or bring her confidence back." Fran finished.

"You knew her destiny, but didn't prepare her for it?" Kim shouted. "I asked you to take of her, not make her so weak that she couldn't fulfill her destiny!"

"We did look after her!" Carla yelled "We were sending her to Harvard; she was going to be a lawyer, but she's as stubborn as her mother. She fought us about Harvard every chance she got; she kept going to a pizza restaurant every-day. After years of trying to keep her away from the ranger world, she found it on her own and jumped at the opportunity to stay be a part of it!"

"She was always a part of it, Carla!" Kim shouted. "She's the daughter of _two_ original power rangers! She was going to be a ranger at some point in her life!"

"Enough!" Fran screamed. "All of you, except for Tommy, screwed up her life. At least now things can start to get reasonably better."

"She's right." Tommy agreed, nodding. "But how are you a part of all this?" Her asked Fran.

"Simple." Fran said, smiling. "My name is Francis, but I like to be called Fran more."

Both Tommy and Kimberly had their eyes bulging; they couldn't believe what they just heard. The jungle fury pink ranger was their daughter. Now that they think about it, she did look like the both of them. She had Tommy's chocolate brown eyes, and she had Kim's small frame and hair color. She looked at them with a look that they didn't recognize, but how could they when they didn't know her.

"You told them I see." Dom's voice came from behind Tommy and Kim.

"Ease-dropper." Fran playfully accused.

"I was curious." Dom defended, in a playful tone. "Plus, I wanted to be close by incase you needed me." He said lovingly.

"I'll always need you, Dom." Fran said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Who are you, and why are you holding my daughter like that?" Kimberly demanded.

"I'm Dominic; I'm the jungle fury white ranger and Fran's boyfriend." Dom said evenly to Kim. He was mad at her for abandoning Fran, and leaving her with incompatant people to raise her.

Fran sensed Dom's agitation and kissed him softly; he calmed down immediately. Fran knew Dom so well, and he knew her just as well. Now they just had to get through the whole 'meet the parents' stage. Dom's parents died when he was at the academy, so Fran wouldn't get a chance to meet them; Dom was saddened by that fact, he knew his parents would have loved Fran. Tommy walked over to Dom and put his hand out.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Dominic." Tommy said as Dom took his hand in a hand shake. "I hope you'll take good care of my little girl."

"I will." Dom said, nodding. "But to be honest, I think Fran is the one who will be taking care of me. You wouldn't believe how organized I've become since meeting her. She even kept us on track when we went backpacking through Europe."

"I just stayed alert when necessary. You're the one who planned everything we did." Fran said, denying her abilities of organization.

"Whatever you say, Love." Dom said kissing her head.

"Glad to know that you have your mother's good taste in guys." Tommy said jokingly. The three of them laughed.

"We should head down stairs; a few of the guys were going to have an eating contest." Dom said once they had calmed down.

"Yeah we should; knowing Rocky he's probably three quarters way done with his portion of food by now." Tommy said.

The six of them then went to the stairs and headed down to the pizza pallor, preparing for the onslaught of questions that were bound to be fired at them.

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**Author's note: Ok, so only one chapter this update, but hey I did say no promises. Also the reason I went with three quarters way done was because I didn't want it to look like Rocky had lost his touch. And did no one notice that Fran pulled a Kimberly by fainting last chapter? Anyway, see you all next update!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Sparring Match

**Author's note: sorry it took so long everyone; I've been fighting writer's block, and my brother/proof reader wasn't around enough to bounce ideas off of. Any-who here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 11: The Sparring Match

**Jungle Karma Pizza**

The six who had come down from the RJ's loft were coming through the kitchen, when they heard the calls of victory and groans of displeasure. Fran and Dom smiled; it was obvious that the eating contest was over. From what the couple could tell, Rocky had won. Kimberly and Tommy just shook their heads and rolled their eyes; they weren't surprised that Rocky had won; when it comes to food, Rocky always wins.

RJ was shaking his head at Casey and Theo; he couldn't see why either of them would go against Rocky in a food eating contest. RJ had never met Rocky before today, but even he knew better than to try to out eat Rocky De Santos. Although, RJ did have to give Casey credit; Casey was definitely second in the contest. Theo sadly was last, but that wasn't surprising; Theo wasn't much of a contestant for food eating contests. As RJ was shaking his head, he caught sight of the six who were in the loft. And soon everyone was looking to the six as well.

"So, I take it that there are questions that you all have." Tommy stated more than asked; he knew they had questions, he'd be more surprised if they didn't have questions.

"Just one leaps to mind." Adam said. "Fran, how long have you been training to fight?" That question was odd, but Fran decided to answer.

"Not very long; I actually had my first lesson in the basics of kung-fu yesterday, with simple katas. Then this morning I moved to slightly more advanced technics. Why?" Fran wanted to know what Adam was up to.

"Well, you certainly didn't look like you were just starting training in that fight earlier." Adam remarked.

"Most of that was following my instincts; also, according to RJ, I'm a natural with fighting, I just need to discipline myself and refine what I already do on instinct some." Fran said.

"A natural?" Tommy asked.

"Yes, she is." RJ jumped in the conversation. "I have never seen anyone who can fight with the near precision of years of training, when they have only had two lessons in basic beginner moves. Fran is the only one I've seen who can do that."

"I would like to see how much you've learned." Tommy said to Fran.

"Sure." Fran said, nodding. "Who wants to spar?"

"I'll spar you with, Fran." Jarrod said.

"No, Jarrod." Dom said, immediately. He wasn't going to let Jarrod fight Fran; he might hurt her more than he means to. "Fran's sparring partner should be someone who can push her, but not over her limits."

"Dom." Fran said, getting his attention. "Jarrod is the perfect sparring partner."

"But, Fran,-" Dom was cut off by Fran kissing him on the lips.

"No buts, Dominic." Fran said, after the two of them pulled away. "Jarrod was possessed by Dai Shi. Derek is possessed by Xia Zulong. Sparring with Jarrod could give me some needed insight that I may need to fight him."

"You're right." Dom said, after a moment. She was right, and he knew it. Fran was supposed to fight this evil; she would need all the knowledge she could get to face it. Jarrod was the only one who has somewhat been through what Derek is going through; he was the best person to spar. So they all headed back up to the loft to see what Fran could do against Jarrod.

**RJ's Loft**

Once they got up to the loft, Fran went right over to the mats and sat Indian-style. She closed her eyes and started to breathe deeply and slowly. Everyone looked at her with confused looks. Dom was the only one who had a vague idea of what she was doing, but he didn't understand why she was doing it when she was supposed to be sparing Jarrod.

"I'm preparing myself mentally for the sparring match." Fran answered their unasked question, not opening her eyes. "I won't be able to do this when the evil forces attack, so I'm going to do it before I spar anyone. Plus, considering what I went through with Derek and Jarrod is, for lack of better words, a fill-in for Derek while we spar, I need to have a strong mindset or Derek will get in my head and try to weaken my resolve."

"A very wise move, Fran. I approve." RJ responded. "Jarrod, perhaps you should meditate for a bit before you spar Fran. She's a fierce fighter, and a clear mind against her might be good advantage for you."

Jarrod nodded and proceeded to meditate on the mats, facing Fran. Everyone was impressed with Fran's for-thought about sparring. She doesn't have any prior knowledge about sparring or fighting in general, yet she was preparing herself mentally without it being suggested to her. Dom had to wonder if Fran was learning the non-physical aspects of martial arts by book; he internally laughed at that thought. Fran learning to fight by books was definitely something she would try to do, but Dom knew that her fighting so far was her instinct, not lessons she learned from a teacher or a book. Fran was just full of surprises.

After a few moments, Fran opened her eyes and rose from her position on the mat, and began to do some stretches. Soon Jarrod was up and stretching as well. Fran had trained earlier today, and then there was an attack, so she probably didn't need to stretch, but she wasn't taking this match lightly and everyone could see it. In her eyes was a fire of determination that no one has ever seen in her before. Dom was thought it was kind of hot, and was getting turned on by it; he knew Fran was going to end up being the death of him, but he didn't care, he loved her.

Fran and Jarrod finished their stretches after a moment or two. They then went to opposite ends of the mat. RJ got in between them so that he could ref. Fran and Jarrod bowed to one another, and then got into fighting stances. Casey had a small gong in his hand, when he rang it the two would start their spar. He rang it as RJ nodded to him. The two heard the gong and began the match.

The circled one another, looking for an opening. Soon, Jarrod charged and went to punch Fran in the shoulder, but Fran saw it coming; she backed slightly and blocked the punch at the same time, and then countered by pushing Jarrod's fist back then giving him three quick jabs to the gut. She swept Jarrod's legs from under him, sending him flailing to the mat; she then quickly backed away from him so that she was out of his reach, in case he tried to retaliate. Jarrod flipped to his feet and charged her again; he tried to catch her off guard by trusting multiple rapid punches at her. She blocked or dodged every punch he threw, but she had no way to counter. Jarrod then sent a round-house kick her way, but she managed to roll out of the way. Fran then charged Jarrod with, and this is where everyone was surprised about, a head-butt. Jarrod dodged it, and then grabbed Fran trying to hold her so she couldn't move. Unfortunately for Jarrod, that was exactly what Fran wanted. She wrapped one of her legs around Jarrod's and shifted, making his leg move. Jarrod was lost his footing, and Fran took that brief moment and twisted out of Jarrod's hold. She then quickly got behind him and kicked his back, knocking him to the mat; she proceeded to grab his wrists quickly and pull them towards her. She also put bent one off her legs, so it was over both of his legs; she put her weight on that leg so he couldn't move his legs.

Fran had a firm hold on Jarrod, and even though he was stronger than her, the position that he was held in he couldn't break it. Fran was smart; she held him like this because she knew the angle he was in would be odd for him, and hard to get out off without hurting himself in the process. RJ called the match; Fran had won. After RJ called the match, Fran released Jarrod from her hold. The match had taken about ten minutes. The veteran rangers were impressed with Fran's skills, and couldn't believe that she hadn't had any prior training.

Fran went over to Dom, who wrapped his arms around her small frame and kissed her softly. Fran wrapped her arms around Dom's neck, deepening the kiss slightly. They stayed like that for a moment then pulled a part. Everyone stared at them; the veterans were thinking how much those two act like Tommy and Kimberly used to. Tommy was happy his daughter, that thought was still weird to him, was with the rhino ranger; he also was feeling a bit protective of her since the two seemed a bit too close for his comfort. Kim still just couldn't believe that she was with her daughter again.

"Well Fran, that was impressive." RJ said after the couple stopped kissing. "You easily took Jarrod down."

"That's because Jarrod was holding back." Fran responded, shocking everyone.  
"How could you possibly know that?" Jarrod asked. He was surprised because he had held back, but that Fran knew it was shocking to him; she never fought him before, how could she of known?

"When the final battle with Dai Shi happened, I was here watching the monitors. I saw you fight Jarrod. I could tell the difference the moment you charged me with that first punch. You slowed your speed, didn't try to strike the most damaging areas, and you didn't use your full strength. I may be a beginner Jarrod, but I won't learn or prepare properly if you hold back. You should have come at me full speed and strength."

Everyone was shocked; who knew that Fran was that observant when it came to fighting. Her fellow rangers knew she used to watch their battles, but they didn't know that she paid attention to someone's fighting style. Fran was definitely a mystery to them these days. If she could tell Jarrod was holding back, what else was she capable of?

"I would like to know more about you, Fran." Kim said after a moment. "It's been forever since I saw you, and I don't know a thing about you."

"Tomorrow." Fran said, in a cold tone that was not like her. "I'm heading to bed early, night everyone." Fran then went to the girl's room and proceeded to get ready for bed.


	12. Chapter 12: Confrontation

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 12: Confrontation

When Fran was out of view, Dom glared at Carla and Roger. He blamed them for Fran's sadness; she wouldn't be so depressed if they hadn't of treated her like they did. Fran felt like she couldn't amount to anything, but reading books until she started coming to JKP every day. The other rangers were able to show Fran that she could do more with her life then just read books, but she wouldn't need to be assured that she matters if Carla and Roger had done a better job raising her.

"This is all your fault!" Dom yelled at Carla and Roger. "Fran wouldn't be upset right now, if you two had told her the truth about you not being her real parents."

Everyone was floored; Dom never blew-up like that. RJ understood Dom anger, but her still couldn't believe that Dom was confronting Carla and Roger; it just wasn't like him to look for a confrontation.

"If we told her the truth, she would have demanded to know who her real parents are." Carla shouted back. "It was a job to protect her; she would have gone looking for her real parents. It was easier to tell her we were her real parents; she was safer that way."

"SAFER!?" Dom bellowed, shocking his friends even more. "You call her being nearly raped by Derek safer? He could sense her power, but if she knew about it back then she could have masked it; he wouldn't have been able to hurt her if she could have masked her power or at least fight back against him. Of course even after it happened you didn't think of getting her counseling; you just wanted to pretend that nothing was wrong."

"That is enough!" Carla screeched. "We did the best we could for her. It isn't our fault that she fought us every step of raising her. We tried to place her in ballet, she would give us and the instructor a hard time. We tried to get her interested in the symphony, but she refused to even sit still and listen to the music. We just couldn't get anywhere with her."

"Maybe if you had actually treated her like a person and a daughter instead of a slave that you could do whatever you wanted to with, she wouldn't have fought your nitpicking child baring." Dom rebutted. "You know even with all you two and Derek did to her, Fran is still the greatest person on the planet; that I'm grateful for."

"You're only saying that because you believe you're in love with her." Carla sniveled.

"I am in love with Fran!" Dom exclaimed. "And she is the greatest person on the planet. She's loyal, brave, wise, beautiful, sweet, intelligent, and funny."

"Don't forget amazing." Flit added to Dom's list.

"You can't be seriously in love with her; you're too young to know what love truly is." Roger tried for a bit of reason.

"I'll admit, for the longest time I didn't know what it felt like to love." Dom said. "But the moment I met Fran, I did know love; she taught me without even knowing it."

"Preposterous!" Carla yelled.

"You two don't know a thing about Fran!" Dom bellowed back. "When I first came to Ocean Bluff, the others didn't want me to stay and help with fighting Dai Shi; they thought I was a too much of a goof-off. But Fran, who didn't even know me that well at the time, defended me. She told the other that I may goof-off once and a while, but that didn't mean that I wasn't a good person and could help. Fran even came looking for me and tried to convince me to stay; she nearly got killed because she was trying to make the situation better. I saved her, and because of that the others asked me to stay."

"Did you know that Fran was the reason I was able to morph for the first time?" Casey spoke up. "I couldn't morph when Theo and Lily were able to. I was swarmed by Rinshi and couldn't break free from them. But then I saw Fran; the Rinshi were attacking her, and I could see the terror in her eyes. Seeing her being attacked like that, my instinct to rush to the aid of others kicked in, and I found the strength to break the hold the Rinshi had me in; when I broke free, I was able to morph. I never would have been able to morph if it weren't for Fran."

"Did you know that Fran helped me see my true feelings for Lily?" Theo said. "I always said that Lily and I were just best friends, nothing more. But Fran said things about young love and how regular dates every week was cute. She also made me realize that if I didn't act on my affections for Lily, I would regret it for the rest of my life, especially if Lily dated someone else. Fran helped me see that; if she hadn't, Lily and I probably wouldn't be together now."

"Did you know Fran helped me when I was under a spell?" Lily mentioned. "We had fought a porcupine monster, but some of its spikes got stuck in me. RJ removed all of them, but one that was in my side towards my back. That spike made my whole personality change; it was Fran who didn't back down. When I was rude to her, she was rude back. She tackled me, for some reason I can't remember, and I tried to get her off of me. During the struggle, the spike shot out of me and hit a wall. When the fog in my head dissipated, Fran told me the guys needed me, so I went into action. If Fran hadn't done that guys would have been destroyed that day and Dai Shi would have won."

"Did you know that Fran healed my animal spirit?" RJ brought up. "Dai Shi had done something to my animal spirit that prevented me from controlling my bestial form; I would turn into a wolf at random times, and I had no control of my actions when I did go wolf. Fran was the one who confronted me about being hurt, and she made me tell her what was happening to me. She kept telling me that I need to tell the others and let them help me, but I didn't want to accidently hurt them because they were trying to help. When the others were fighting this monkey thing, Fran and I were in here the loft; I turned into my wolf form and attacked her. Fran somehow got through to the rational side of the wolf and calmed it down. My clawed hand was in the air, since I paused in my attack on her; she put her hand to mine and I turned back to normal. Fran had somehow healed me and the wolf with that one touch; with that taken cared of I took the wolf morpher and went to help the others. Fran is the reason I was able to become the wolf ranger."

"And did you know that Fran has great stamina?" Flit said, getting odd looks from everyone. "When the rangers went to fight Dai Shi's forces, she would stay and run the restaurant. Most of the time she was doing the rush hours on her own, but she never showed how truly tired and sore she was. Jarrod, Camille and I could barely keep up with the customers and there were three of us during the rush when they all went to face the creature Xia Zulong sent. She must have a lot of stamina to be able to do everything on her own during the rush multiple times a day." Camille and Jarrod nodded their agreement to Flit's statement.

"Fran has done so much for us, and yet she still feels like she never did enough. She wouldn't be feeling that way if it weren't for the way you two treated her while she was growing up." Dom finished all of their thoughts.

Carla and Roger were floored. They all had mentioned those times before, but never in detail until now. Francis had helped them all in big ways, and she felt inadequate to them; they were probably the ones who should feel inadequate to her. What had they done to her? They truly were horrible parents to her, and they could never make up for it.

Kim was shocked that her little girl had done so much; her daughter had very amazing talents. Kim was awed about how her little girl had gained the trust and friendship of such marvelous people. They cared for Fran like a family; the way she used to be with the other veteran rangers. Fran was really living up to the pink ranger legacy; Kim was very proud of her accomplishments.

Tommy was still on what Dom said about being in love with Fran. He didn't know Fran well, but he still felt a little uneasy about Dom loving Fran. Tommy didn't like that Dom was so adamant about his love for Fran, but he wasn't worried. He could feel that Dom truly loved Fran, and from what Tommy had witnessed, Dom would do anything to keep her safe. Tommy trusted Dom to keep Fran safe from danger, but Tommy didn't know if he should trust Dom to not break Fran's heart; only time could tell he supposed.

"You all care very deeply about her, don't you?" Roger asked quietly.

"Fran is family to them," Dom said, after they all looked at each other for a moment. "But she's more to me; she's the love of my life." Dom was adamant when he said Fran was the love of his life; he meant what he said.

"Do you really mean that Dom?" Came a voice from behind them. When they all turned they saw that it was Fran.

"Yes, Fran, I do." Dom said without hesitation. "I love you, Fran."

Fran ran to Dom and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. Dom wrapped his arms around her waist returning the hug and embracing her with his love all at once. Fran then placed one of her hands behind his head to hold is in place, and started to kiss him with such passion that it took Dom a second to respond to the kiss. Their kiss had always been slow and soft; this one was slow also, but it was passionate. Their tongs we dancing in their mouths, both trying to claim dominance. After a moment Fran pulled away just enough that they were only millimeters apart; their lips were still grazing together when Fran spoke.

"I love you too, Dom." Fran barely whispered. "You're also the love my life."

After Fran said that, she and Dom were kissing passionately once again. Dom was floating to cloud nine; Fran loved him as much as he loved her. Fran could feel her toes tingling; Dom loved her more than anything. They both knew that their love was going to last forever, no matter what anyone else said, and no matter what Xia Zulong did. They were going to be together for the long haul, no matter what.


	13. Chapter 13: Training

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 13: Training

**Next day: RJ's loft**

After Fran and Dom had their make-out session, which was interrupted by Billy throwing water on them again, everyone decided to get some rest. Lily, Fran and Camille shared what was only Lily's room during the war against Dai Shi. Theo and Casey gave up their shared room to the elder women: Kim, Aisha and Carla. Since the two boys gave up their room willingly to the three women, RJ let them bunk in his room for the time being. Dom slept on the terrace, so he was the only one who didn't bunk with anyone. The rest of the men roomed in the main area of the loft, where the others usually trained. Roger and Flit used the two med cots that were used a few days prier, since they weren't put away. The other men slept on air mattresses that RJ brought out of storage, where he usually put the camping gear. No one dared slept in RJ's chair, for fear of dealing with the wolf master's wraith later.

Once morning arrived, Fran again was the first one up. She was contemplated making breakfast, but went against it; she didn't know the ninjetti enough to know what they would want or how much they would eat. So Fran decided she would go for a morning run; a new experience for her. She changed into some running close, got a water-bottle ready, and wrote a note to the others telling them she went for a run. After she made sure her running-shoes were on tightly enough, she left the loft and went out the back door of the restaurant.

An hour had pass before anyone else awoke. They all awoke around the same time and started meandering to the kitchen. Lily noticed there was no pre-made breakfast for them, and that Fran wasn't anywhere in sight. She saw Dom walking in from the terrace without any sight of Fran either being in his room, nor having been in there at all. She started to look around to see if Fran had left a note telling them where she had gone; she found it on the fridge. She read the note and walked over to RJ so she could tell him, but she never got the chance. Fran came up the stairs before Lily could say a word to RJ.

"Fran where did you go and why are you all sweaty?" Theo asked, having seen her come up the stairs.

"I went out for a run, Theo. I left a note." Fran answered.

"She did. I just found it a moment ago." Lily said, backing Fran up by showing the note to everyone.

"It's good that you left a note, Fran, but next time you leave the building you should have one of us with you." RJ said in his mentor tone. "Xia Zulong is after you and you still need training before you can handle any type of ambush attack."

"I know, RJ, you're right." Fran replied, with a sigh. "It's just I have let Derek's attack on me from seven years ago to control me; I wanted to get some of that control back. I mean when I started coming to JKP every day, I did get some control back; but I lost a lot of it when Derek came charging back into my life."

"I understand, Fran." RJ replied, sympathetically. "And with this training, you'll be able to get some of that control back."

"Thanks, RJ." Fran replied with a smile. "I'm going to start my stretches and practice my katas while you finish waking up."

Fran then proceeded with her morning routine of stretches and kata practice. While everyone else ate breakfast, they all watched Fran. She was preforming the kata with excellent precision. Dom had an idea to help her in her training. He got behind her without her noticing, then he went to attack her from behind silently. Before Dom could deliver the first blow however, Fran swirled around and double jabbed him in the gut. She then took his arm and flip him over her shoulder. She stepped on his chest, putting just a little bit of weight on that foot, still holding his arm so that it was in the air.

Dom took a moment to marvel at how Fran was able to not only stop his surprise attack, but also to put him on his back on the ground with little effort. He couldn't believe that this was the same Fran he met when he first came to the city. She had really changed over the time that he's known her, and he couldn't be more proud of her. Fran had grown to be a strong and capable person; he is never going to get over how amazing she is.

"Anyone want to spar?" Fran asked the crowd who was watching her.

"I'll spar you, Fran." Tommy said stepping towards them. Fran had let Dom up at this point.

"Great! Let me know when you're ready to start, Tommy." Fran said. She then gave Dom a look that made him shut his mouth, for he was about to protest.

Fran and Tommy got in their positions, and waited for Dom to give them the go ahead. When Dom gave them the begin signal and backed away, so that he was back in the kitchen area of the loft with the others. Fran and Tommy circled one another; waiting for a chance to strike. Tommy was the first to engage, and Fran defended with ease. She could tell Tommy was starting softly, so that he could get a feel for her fighting technic. She decided to keep him on his toes. She countered his attacks with some of her own, but these were in Dom's fighting style. Tommy defended then gained ground and started to counter with everything he had; Fran blocked every blow he tried to make. Fran then countered his assault with her own, this time in her own unique battle style. She took Tommy down and held him down; He patted the mat, admitting defeat, when he realized he couldn't break her hold on him. Fran let him go after he patted the mat, and after Tommy got up, they bowed to each other.

The ninjetti were impressed with Fran; she had beaten Tommy, who was the best fighter of them all. The Jungle Fury rangers had their jaws dropped; they couldn't believe that Fran had just beaten a veteran ranger. Fran had definitely impressed them all. After a few moments their shocks wore off and they proceeded with the morning. The Jungle Fury team, minus Fran, went down stairs prep the restaurant for the day; the ninjetti convinced RJ to let them train Fran for the day, and he agreed only after Fran had given him a glare and a threat.

Train was exhausting for Fran, but she enjoyed it. She knew that the fight with evil had only begun, and she had to be ready. She knew that she would come across a difficult decision, and she would have to choose the best way to handle it. She just hoped that she was strong enough to do whatever it was she would have to do.


	14. Chapter 14: Another Battle

**Author's note: Okay this is the day after chapter thirteen; just in case some of you are having trouble with the story's timeline. Also, I wrote another story called: ****Rise of the Owl: The Forbidden Chapter****; this chapter goes into a nightly export of Dom and Fran. If you're not old enough or not into M fics, then please don't read it. You don't have to read that to follow the story, but there will be some references to it; I assure you nothing graphic. You'll have to keep reading to know how it's referenced.**

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Rise of the Owl

Chapter 14: Another Battle

**RJ's Loft: Next day**

Everyone, except Dom and Fran, got up and had breakfast around the same time. RJ got a little worried when an hour went by and there was no sign of Fran nor Dom. Fran was usually up before everyone else got up, and Dom usually got up with everyone else; something was up. RJ was about to ask Lily if Fran was still in bed, when Dom came out of his room in his pants and no shirt. He went right to the fridge and took out the orange juice; then proceeded to pour two cups of the juice. After pouring the juice, Dom put the jug back in the fridge. Dom took hold of both of the cups and was on his way back to his room, when his door opened and closed again.

Everyone turned to look at the door that had opened and their mouths' dropped. Fran had come out of Dom's room, and she was wearing Dom's white training shirt. Fran smiled at Dom as she took one of the glasses of orange juice from Dom. They pecked a kiss on the lips and then took a sip of their drinks in unison. When the couple turned to the other occupants of the loft, Fran blushed but still had a smile on her face. Kim was the first person to her senses.

"Francis Abigale Hart-Oliver!" Kim shouted.

"Nice to know my real last name. Thanks." Fran replied in an easy going tone.

Kim was in a stupor; she didn't know what to say to this. Fran was acting like she was less embarrassed about the situation than Kim was. Kim may have given birth to Fran, but she had no practice of being a mother and didn't know how to handle this. Tommy on the other hand, seemed to have a brief idea; surprisingly it wasn't to beat Dom to death.

"Fran?" Tommy asked, getting the couple's attention.

"Yes?" Fran replied.

"Are you and Dom happy together?" he asked.

"Very happy." She answered, with a smile and without hesitation; Dom put his arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Then I'm happy for you." Tommy replied. "And as a treat, I won't kill Dom."

Fran ran towards Tommy and hugged him tightly. Tommy hugged her back; he was glad he could make his little girl happy after not being there for her for the past 17 years. Fran was happy that her real father approved of her relationship; she would never be able to handle it if both pairs of parents disapproved of Dom. Kim was on the brink of going ballistic on Tommy; how could he not be trying to kill their daughter's boyfriend right now. That's when it hit her; Dom and Fran were around the same age Kim and Tommy were when they had become intimate. Tommy couldn't fault Dom for wanting to show Fran just how much he loved her, even if he was uncomfortable about it.

"Thank you, for not killing my boyfriend, Dad." Fran said to Tommy, after pulling back from their hug.

Fran then proceeded to go back to Dom's room with her juice, presumably to change for the day. Tommy was still grinning like the Cheshire cat, since Fran had called him 'Dad'. The male ninjetti were wondering if they were ever going to be able to get their leader back to what they called normal. Kim and Aisha were thinking if they should have a talk with Fran about intimate relationships with a teammate. Flit, who had gone down stairs to start the preparations for JKP, came up and looked panicked.

"RJ, we've got a problem." Flit announced.

"What is it, Flit?" RJ responded, trying to get back to his senses.

"There are a lot of men wearing red outside the pizzeria, and I have no idea how to handle the situation." Flit said, in his fast commentator voice.

"Relax, Flit." Fran said, coming out of Dom's room, dressed in her JKP uniform. "They're most likely past red rangers; though why they're here, I have no clue."

"I do." Tommy said, finally coming out of his state of pride. "They're here to see you, Fran."

"ME?!" Fran exclaimed. "Why are they here to see me? Shouldn't it be Casey they're here to see? He's the red ranger of the team, not me."

"That's true, Fran, but you're more important than me." Casey answered Fran's questions. "I may be the new red ranger in the ranks, but you're the daughter of two of the original rangers; you are much higher on the list of people wanting to meet than me."

"Breath, Fran." Dom said, before she could get a word out. "I'll get dressed and then we can meet them together; deal?"

"Deal." Fran replied, much calmer.

With that, Dom finished his juice, gave the glass to Fran to put in the sink, and then went into his room to change. Fran finished her juice and then put the two empty glasses in the sink. Fran then went to RJ's chair and sat in it, trying to breath, so that she can relax enough to meet the red rangers. She knew Dom being there when she meets them, will help her stay calm; however she was still worried. She had just met her birth parents; what if the red rangers expected her to be some awesome warrior? She didn't know if she could handle that.

As soon as Dom came out of his room the alarms blared. Everyone went to the monitors and saw a very ugly creature that looked like a cross between a dingo and a donkey. Casey was about to go into leader mode, but Fran beat him to it.

"All rangers who can morph will go fight the latest baddie." Fran said, in a commanding tone. "Flit, stall the red rangers, but do not tell them what is going on; if they know that a monster is destroying the city, then they're all going to want to help and if there are more people besides rangers fighting evil in the city, a lot of innocent people could possibly start wanting to help and join the fight."

With that said, and Casey giving a nod of approval to Fran's plan, the six jungle rangers went into action. The ninjetti stayed in the loft to watch the fight for signs if they were needed. Camille, Jarrod and Flit went to JKP to look after the red rangers. Roger and Carla stayed with the ninjetti; no one bothered sitting in RJ's chair, knowing he was very territorial about it and didn't want to deal with an angry wolf master.

888

**In the city plaza, at the battle**

The rangers arrive on the scene in morph; fighting the Kairai as they went towards the monster. The dingo-donkey hybrid was uglier in person; the smell coming off of it was bad too. The rangers attacked the beast in a synchronized assault. The beast was taking quite the beating, until it jumped in the air and away from the rangers.

The beast then summoned more Kairai that fought the rangers. While the rangers were busy fighting the Kairai, the monster captured a boy who was watching the rangers from a safe difference away. The boy was Jimmy, the one who helped Casey when his spirit was wounded. After the ranger's defeated the Kairai, they went after the monster, but stopped when they saw the beast had Jimmy.

"That's Jimmy!" Casey said. "We have to get him away from the monster."

"I have an idea." Fran said. "Casey, you trust Jimmy, right?"

"Yeah." Casey said, cautiously.

"And you trust me?" Fran asked.

"Of course." Casey replied. "Fran, what are you planning?"

"Just trust me." Fran said. "Dom, don't react until you get my signal."

With that said, Fran walked forward and stopped when she was a few feet from the monster. She knew what she had to do; she also knew that Dom would go crazy that she did something so stupid, but he would forgive her. She just hoped the others will forgive her.

"Hold it right there, Pink ranger." The monster said, threatenilly. "One more step and I'll destroy this boy."

"Then how about a trade?" The Pink ranger said, shocking everyone. "You let the boy go, and I'll let you take me to your master as a captive."

"Ha! Like I'm going to fall for a trick like that." The monster jeered.

"Think about it." She said, trying to entice the monster. "You bring me to your master and you'll be rewarded beyond comprehension."

"Hm, you have a point." The beast said, thoughtfully. "You come over here and I'll let him go."

"Let the boy walk to the other rangers first." She said. "Once he has passed me I will come to you."

"How do I know you'll do what you say and not try to ambush me?" The monster asked incredulously.

"I have honor that I will not disrespect." The pink ranger replied, with dignity. "But, if you have doubts to my intentions, then maybe this will help." Saying this she demorphed, placed her morpher on the ground, and kicked it behind her so she couldn't pick it up again.

"Fair enough, Pink Ranger." The monster said.

The beast then let the boy go. Fran made a motion for the boy to come to her, which he did. She moved him so that he got behind her and she then walked toward the monster, but stopped when she heard the boy was in Casey's hands. The monster was getting very impatient with her, but Fran remained calm the whole time.

"You know, I forgot to mention something." Fran said thoughtfully.

"And what's that?" The monster said getting angry.

"You never mess with the pink ranger when she has a rhino backing her up." Fran exclaimed.

Fran then proceeded to flip high up into the air, distracting the monster. While the monster watched Fran flip in the air, Dom rhino charged him and sent him flying. Fran landed and started doing back flips towards her teammates, grabbing her morpher in the process. When she stopped her back flipping she quickly morphed. Dom came running towards the group; immediately he hugged Fran.

"Don't ever do that to me again!" He demanded.

"Jimmy, we need you to go over there and wait until we come get you." Fran said to him; he nodded and ran to where he was told to.

"Sorry for taking charge, Casey. You're the leader of this team, not me." Fran apologized to Casey.

"It's ok, Fran." Casey assured. "If there is one thing I've learned about you, Fran, it's never get in your way when you're fired up."

"Thanks, Casey." Fran said in gratitude. "What do you say we take this guy down?"

"Let's do it!" Casey exclaimed.

The primary colored ranger powered up the claw canon and fired at the monster. The monster than proceeded to grow. The five rangers that could summon their zords, went to fight the monster. Meanwhile, Fran went over to Jimmy and demorphed. Together they watched the fight and cheered when the rangers won. The rangers then proceeded to Fran and Jimmy; Fran nodded telling silently that they should demorph.

When Jimmy saw who the red ranger was, his eyes bulged. He was beyond shocked that his martial arts instructor was the red ranger. He didn't know what to do first, faint or go into shock. Luckily, Fran knew what to do to help save him and everyone else, for at least a few more moments.

"Jimmy, would you like to come with us? That way we can answer any questions you may have." Fran said to the boy. "I know how over whelming you finding out like this is; trust me, answering your questions will be easier if it's not in the open like this."

"Ok, sure." Jimmy answered, nodding his consent. "And thanks for saving me."

"That's what rangers do." Fran said, smiling at him.

They all then proceeded to go to the loft, where many questions were going to be answered.

888

**Author's note: Cliff hanger! I know, I'm mean; you'll get used to it. You all remember Jimmy from when Casey's spirit was suppressed, right? Anyway, I would like some reviews please. Also, please vote on my poll on my profile; I need more inputs. Thanks, Fans. See you all next update.**


	15. Chapter 15: Questions and Answers

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 15: Questions and Answers

**RJ's Loft: After the Battle**

The ninjetti, Carla and Roger, the Jungle Rangers, and Jimmy were all in the loft. The ninjetti all looked at Fran, like she had two heads; apparently weren't happy that Fran had revealed herself to the boy and told the others to go ahead and tell him their identities as well. Fran ignored them and led Jimmy to RJ's chair; she figured that it was better for him to get comfy, before the question and answer portion of this meeting started.

"Can we get you anything before we start the Q&A, Jimmy?" Fran asked him sweetly.

"No, thank you." Jimmy answered, shaking his head.

"Well, where should we start?" Casey asked no one in particular.

"The beginning; how did you become power rangers?" Jimmy said.

"There was an evil spirit, named Dai Shi that was locked in a box for over a thousand years." Casey started. "A little over a year ago, Dai Shi was accidentally released by a student who went to the same school that I went to. While Dai Shi escaped, our master, Master Mao, was killed. When he died, Theo, Lily and I came here to meet our new master, RJ. When we came to see him, he made us three the first Jungle Fury rangers. A few months after being rangers, RJ joined our ranks as the Wolf ranger. A couple weeks later, Dom came to town and joined us as the Rhino ranger. And Fran became the pink ranger a few days ago, when the new evil that we're facing now came forth."

"So, when the red ranger was weakened that day I helped him; it was you?" Jimmy asked.

"That's right, Jimmy. Whiger, a phantom beast general, took some of my tiger power; that's why I needed your help to charge the claw cannon." Casey answered.

"So, you knowing about animal spirits, it's because you're the red ranger?" Jimmy questioned.

"That's not entirely true." Casey started. "You see, Jimmy, all of the jungle fury rangers, except Fran, have been a part of the Pai Zuaq Academy. At the academy, we learn about animal spirits and the type of power they can contain. We also learn how to harness our animal spirits and make them manifest."

"So, that's why you know so much about animal spirits? Even how you figured out that my animal spirit was the tiger?" Jimmy wondered.

"That's right." Casey said, nodding.

Flit came up the stairs looking frantic. He went straight to Fran. He was breathing deeply; apparently he was running all the way up the stairs.

"Flit, what's wrong?" Fran asked him worriedly.

"They're getting restless. The only reason that they have been calm this long is that they've been arguing on whose the greatest red ranger, since most of them agree that it's not Tommy."

"Of course they are." Tommy said, rolling his eyes.

"Some others came in as well, so now there are even more than just the reds now." Flit said, sounding panicky.

"Breathe, Flit." Fran said. "We'll be down in a moment; tell them we'll be right there."

Flit nodded and then dashed down the stairs. Fran kept wringing her hands; Dom noticed and placed his hands over hers. She looked up at him and Dom nodded to his room, signaling her to go there so they could talk privately. She went to his room and Dom followed, signaling the others to give them a moment to talk.

"Ok, Fran, what's wrong?" Dom asked concerned.

"What if I'm not what they expect?" Fran answered after a moment of hesitation. "I mean I'm not this great long lost hero, but what if they treat me as if I am?"

"Fran, most of the rangers down stairs know your biological parents, so the most probable thing to happen is that they treat you as family." Dom answered calmly.

"They won't treat you like you're some legend, and if they do then you and I will handle it accordingly. Everything will be alright."

Fran smiled at him and hugged him tightly. To her, Dom always knew what to say to calm her down when she was frantic.

"Now, why don't you change into your Pai Zuaq training uniform and we'll go meet them together." Dom said, pulling away from his embrace with her.

Fran thought for a moment, then she nodded her approval of the plan. She knew that everyone down stairs knew the ranger secret, so she had no reason not to wear her Pai Zuaq training uniform. She motioned for Dom to get out, and then proceeded to change uniforms. After she was changed she left Dom's room, and they both went down stairs. They didn't have to worry about the others in the loft because Casey was still talking to Jimmy, Carla and Roger stayed so they were out of the way of ranger business, and everyone else had already went down stairs; trying to help Flit, Camille and Jarrod to stall the veterans down stairs.

When Fran and Dom had gotten to the kitchen, they could hear shouting happening. They were able to tell that two of the voices belonged to Kimberly and Tommy; the other voice however, they didn't recognize, but they did figure out that it was male in origin. So, the couple took deep breaths and went through the kitchen door, entering the pizza pallor.

The shouting stopped immediately, and many heads turned towards them. Fran wanted to run or shy away, but she felt Dom squeeze her hand, giving her silent encouragement; therefore, she held her head high and stood her ground, waiting for someone to explain what the shouting was all about. She looked around at all of the faces; then she looked at RJ, silently asking him to tell her and Dom what had happened.

"Fran, this is Jason Lee Scott. He was the first red ranger of earth." RJ told Fran. She just nodded in understanding. She then looked at Jason, glaring at him.

"If you have a problem with how I came to be in this world, Mr. Scott, do all of us a favor and keep your mouth shut." Fran said pointedly, shocking everyone in the pallor. "Too much has happened in the past couple of days, and the last thing any of us needs right now, is the opinion of someone who doesn't know the whole story and won't get the whole story unless he keeps his trap shut."

Everyone was looking at her with their mouths dropped. Those who knew Fran were beyond surprised that she said that at all; never mind that she said that to the red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. Everyone else in the room, the ones who didn't know Fran at all, were shocked that anyone that wasn't a part of the original power ranger team in Angel Grove would _ever_ speak to Jason like that. Most of the people that were in shock didn't know whether to have Fran evaluated, to see if she was crazy, or applaud her for her boldness and courage at actually telling him off. RJ and Dom were the first to come out of their shocked state.

"Breathe, Fran." RJ said to her calmly. "Why don't we all take a seat and talk things out?"

"RJ's right." Dom agreed, trying to keep Fran from exploding at Jason the way she did Carla and Roger. "Fran, let's sit down and tell them your story."

"Alright." Fran said, nodding; trying to calm down some.

Dom and Fran sat in some chairs that RJ had placed out for them. Fran looked at all of the faces that were looking at her. It seemed that everyone was waiting for Fran's side of the story; that made her feel better, at least they were willing to hear her story. She didn't see or hear Casey, Jimmy, Carla and Roger come in the pizza pallor, but RJ did and gave them a silent signal that they need to stay quiet.

"A few days ago Dom and I got back from backpacking in Europe; our friends threw us a big welcome back home party. While at the party my adopted parents, who didn't know weren't my real parents at the time, came to it at Dom's request; he was trying to surprise me by inviting them." Fran stopped and smiled a little bit at the fond memory of Dom's big surprise. "Well, it didn't turn out too well. I ended up losing my temper at them because they were trying to control my life to fit _their _great plan for my life. When I tried to calm down after my outburst, a person who had no right being at the party. His name is Derek; he came to make sure I stayed weak. Seven years ago, Derek attacked me and tried to rape me. He came to the party, using the power he had over me to keep me in the mind-set of a victim. When he said I ruined his life, I lost my self-control and let the truth of what he did flow out. He decided that he didn't want me empowered, so he used his animal spirit to attack my adopted parents and then me. They were only mildly wounded from the attack; Derek's animal spirit didn't get a chance to attack me though. When I felt the danger of his threat, I felt a warm presence inside of me that made me almost as safe as Dom does; I allowed the presence to overflow in and out of me, releasing a pink glowing owl. The defended me and forced Derek's black leopard spirit to retreat, making Derek retreat as well. I promptly passed out from over exertion."

"My adopted parents and I were brought to RJ's loft for med treatment. After I came to, my adopted parents told me that I was adopted. When they told me that I wasn't their biological daughter, I demanded that they tell me who my real parents were and why they never told me before that I was adopted. That's when they told me that my biological parents were power rangers, and that to protect me from the darkness that followed my mother and my father didn't know about me at all. They said my mother never told my father about me, and I saw that they were telling the truth when I met both of biological parents for the first time, to my knowledge. He was very upset that he didn't get to be a part of my life, and that my mother never mentioned her being pregnant or having me. I knew that my father did care about me, and that he wanted to be a part of my life and that he would have done anything to be in my life sooner if he had known. I also discovered that both my parents would have stepped in and raised me better than my adopted parents, if they knew how my adopted parents treated me while I was growing up." Fran paused, taking a deep breath. "Are there any questions?"

"How did you become a ranger?" Asked a red ranger with a black leather jacket, and a boyish face. He had long brown hair and brown eyes; he was sitting with a girl in yellow who had brown eyes and hair. They were sitting with a young African American man wearing blue and a young Hispanic man wearing white; they all seemed to be the same age.

"Derek became the host of the Jungle Fury rangers' new enemy, Xia Zulong. Because of the threat that Xia Zulong presents with Derek, I went to help the others fight before I received my morpher. That's when Billy came and joined in the fight. When Derek retreated, we returned to the loft. RJ gave me my training uniform and both he and Dom started to teach me some basics in fighting; I also received my morpher from Billy. The day I first morphed is when I met my biological parents, and seemed to have done the pink ranger mantel justice." Fran finished with a smile, since she was remembering how impressed the ninjetti were with her.

"Okay that answers a lot of my questions." Jason said. "But I still have a few."

"Well, go ahead and ask them then." Fran said, in a calm and matter of fact matter.

"Who are the people behind you that came in just before you told us your story?" Jason asked, trying very hard to ignore Fran's attitude.

Fran turned and saw Casey, Jimmy, Carla and Roger. They stood their listening; Fran didn't mind that her adopted parents and Casey heard her story, they already knew all of this about her. But Fran wasn't comfortable enough for Jimmy to hear her story yet; she didn't know him well enough yet, and Jimmy was still a kid, he didn't need to hear about things like that.

"I'm Casey Rhodes, Jungle Fury Red Ranger." Casey said, taking point seeing that Fran was in slight duress now that she saw that Jimmy had listened to her story.

"This is my student Jimmy, he's new to the ranger world. And these are Fran's adopted parents, Carla and Roger."

"How do you two know about the ranger world?" Jason questioned them.

"Kimberly told us when we tried to convince her to tell Tommy about her being pregnant." Carla responded, indignantly. "She confided in us and we helped her with the baby. When she came back from dealing with Divatox, she didn't feel secure enough to raise Francis, so we agreed to take her in and raise her as our daughter."

"Obviously you didn't do a good job in being parents, otherwise Fran wouldn't have ever felt afraid or inferior." Jason said with an enraged voice.

"Jas, calm down." Tommy said, in his leader voice. "Kim already gave them a tongue lashing, for not taking better care of Fran."

"I don't care!" Jason exclaimed. "They didn't protect my niece, and I'm not going to let it go. Fran should have been protected better, but they don't even care that Fran may never fully recover from what she went through, between them and what that bastard Derek did."

"I may not be fully recovered and I may never be, but I'm not going to let the bad things that happened in my past run my life." Fran said firmly. "Besides, no matter what Derek throws at me, I'm not going to back down. People need the rangers to be at our best, or evil wins the fight. If I let what Derek did to me keep effecting when I'm need the most, the many people that rely on me as a ranger and as a teammate may start to lose hope. The world will always need the power rangers to protect it, and the power rangers will always need each other to keep fighting the good fight."

"Fran is right, the team needs her at the top of her game." Dom said, supporting Fran. "But Fran, you may be needed as a ranger, but we also need you to just be you. We need you to be your kind, caring, and exceptional self."

"Oh, Dom." Fran said, smiling brightly at him. "I don't think I would be able to keep being me if it weren't for you always supporting me."

The couple then kissed each other. Everyone except Jimmy and RJ groaned at them. Dom and Fran just ignored them and kept kissing. Many of the rangers around them tried to clear their throats to separate them, but Fran and Dom were too wrapped up together to care. That's when Billy spoke up.

"If you do don't want another cup of water poured on you, I suggest you cease the lip-locking." Billy said very loudly to try to get their attention. The couple reluctantly pulled a part.

"That's a cruel and sick move, Billy." Fran said, glaring at him.

"It worked." Billy said, shrugging.

"Um, this is all fascinating." The girl in yellow that Fran saw earlier said. "But I have one little question?"

"What is it, Kira?" Tommy said, identifying the girl.

"How could you have not known that you had a daughter, Dr. O?" Kira said. "I mean you have all this information about all past rangers all the way up to current rangers, and you didn't find out that your ex had a kid? You seem to know everything else about all of the other rangers of the past."

"I didn't want to pry at Kim's life." Tommy said, sighing. "Kim made her choice and I honored it; even if I didn't like it. All I kept up to date with on Kim was her address and contact info, just in case."

"Still Dr. O, you have eyes and ears practically everywhere." The man in red next to Kira said. "You're rarely ever surprised. Now this comes up, and even I can see that your eyes are practically bulging out of your head, dude."

"Conner, what did I tell you about calling me dude?" Tommy said in his mentor/leader voice.

"Can't be too upset with him, Dr. O; I mean it has been a while since we've all seen each other." The boy in blue sitting with Conner and Kira said.

"Ethan has a point, Dr. O." The boy in white sitting with them said, agreeing with Ethan.

"You're right Trent, Ethan does have a point; however Conner is old enough to know better." Tommy stated matter-of-factly.

"Dad, you want to fill the newbies in on how these four know you, and why they keep calling you Dr. O?" Fran asked, trying to keep track of what is going on.

"These four are old students from Reefside High; they are also the rangers that I personally mentored when I was the black Dino ranger." Tommy said answering Fran's questions as promptly as possible while he was floating on the high of being called Dad. "And they're calling me Dr. O because I have a doctorate in Paleontology; I'm the science teacher at Reefside High."

"Another color!" Many voices exclaimed in unison.

"You have a doctorate!" Other voices shouted.

Others just laughed at the fact that everyone else was so exasperated at Tommy's expense. Fran was absorbing the warm family atmosphere; she hasn't felt this kind of atmosphere since she found out that her co-workers were power rangers. They were so warm and welcoming when she knew who they were; they were glad that they didn't have to worry their secret anymore. She was super happy at the moment, and the only way she was going to leave this bliss was if Dom took her somewhere for them to be alone or if there was an attack on the city.

**Xia Zulong's evil lair**

There has to be a way to stop Franny from coming to her full potential. But what can stop her; how can he brake her will? There had to be a something that he can do to take her power away, but what? Soon a rumble was heard, and he was wondering where the rumble was coming from. That's when he saw the purple glow and smelled the stale stench of mildew and mold.

A very ugly humanoid figure appeared from the purple glow. The figure gave a sickening smug like grin.

"Hello, Xia Zulong." The figure said in a putrid scratchy voice. "I am the son of Ivan Ooze. My name is Sludge Ooze, and I believe I can help you with your ranger problem."

Xia Zulong grinned manically; well it would seem that he now had a way to destroy not only Franny, but all of the rangers as well.


	16. Chapter 16: Evil Partnership

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 16: Evil Partnerships

**Xia Zulong's Evil Lair**

Xia Zulong observed Sludge Ooze thoroughly; he saw just enough of Ooze to know that Franny would have extreme trouble in battle, if she faced Ooze. He knew that all of the gears in his head were spinning fast. He couldn't help the evil grin that came upon his face while he was in thought; however, one thought came to him that immediately turned that grin into a frown.

"Exactly why are you offering to help me get rid of the rangers, Ooze?" Xia Zulong asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes into slits.

"You see, Xia Zulong, the ninjetti rangers defeated my father by trapping him in a comet." Sludge began in his horrible sounding voice. "The ninjetti are one with their inner spirit animal; if the rangers that you're facing have the same type of animal spirit power, then I know the perfect way to destroy them. I want vengeance on the ninjetti for what they did to my father, as well as that Phados warrior Dulcea, for giving those rangers the power of ninjetti in the first place. One of the best ways to hurt the rangers is to beat the current team; it will show to all that the power rangers aren't undefeatable or invincible."

"Very well." Xia Zulong said in a calculating tone of voice. "But be warned now, Ooze; if you betray me at any point, you won't need to concern yourself with the rangers any longer. Because _I _will be the one who destroys you. Am I understood?"

"Absolutely, Lord Xia Zulong." Sludge said feigning charm, much like his father did with Rita and Zed. "I have a very genius plan, and I know you're just going to love it!"

"Then proceed and tell me what it is." Xia Zulong said, now quickly losing his patience.

The two evil being continued to discuss the evil plan devised by Sludge Ooze; it was a terrible plan that the rangers would never see coming. Sludge Ooze definitely lives up to his name. Soon the rangers will be facing a new foe, old minions, and more trouble than they have ever had before.

**Author's note: Sorry that the chapter is so short; it's just a small filler so that not everything is solely focused on Fran. I would also like to point out I will not be updating for a while because I'm going on vacation at the end of the week, and therefore will not be able to update until I return from vacation. Though I will promise to keep writing and to update when I get back. Please read and review like always; also please take part in the poll that on my page. Thanks fans! See you next update.**


	17. Chapter 17: Dulcea's Call

**Author's note: I'm back! Here's the next chapter; hope you guys like it. Read and Review.**

Rise of the Owl

Chapter 17: Dulcea's Call

**JKP with the gathering of rangers**

Fran and the rest of the jungle fury crew were enjoying themselves, listening to the veteran rangers as they told stories about their ranger adventures. Fran was laughing left and right at all the crazy antics of past villains; she was almost rolling on the floor with RJ when the second red turbo ranger, TJ, told about how he was nearly cooked into a giant pizza. The stories were so uplifting that Fran had almost completely forgotten about Xia Zulong and Derek.

But Fran stopped laughing immediately when she felt an ominous presence. She could feel her owl spirit, desiring to answer the call of a fellow owl. Her spirit felt a kinship to the other owl and didn't want to let its calls for help go unanswered. Fran wanted to comply with her spirit's wishes, for she too could feel a bond that was similar to the owls. She could sense the other owl possessor's essence was one that she faintly recognized. Fran wanted to answer the call, but she had to wait until she wasn't with Dom; he would worry about her contacting an unknown being.

Before anyone could notice the change in Fran's demeanor, the door to JKP opened. Everyone turned towards the door to see a figure with long light brown hair. When the figure stepped further into the pizzeria, the Jungle Fury gang recognized him at once, even Fran knew who he was. RJ immediately picked himself off of the floor, and stood to face the man. The rest of the Jungle Fury Rangers stood from their seats and bowed to the man in front of the door. RJ simply nodded to him and went over to give the man a handshake and a hug.

"Good to see you again, Dad." RJ said, happy yet surprised to see his father.

"RJ, it is good to see you again my son." Master Finn replied to his son's greeting. He looked at all the people around him.

"Master Finn, what can we do for you?" Fran asked him, suspecting that he was there for a reason.

"I have come for Dom." Master Finn answered Fran's inquired question.

"What? Why?" Dom asked, becoming alert.

"The other masters and I believe that it's time." Master Finn said. "We all thought it would be easier if I were the one to come and get you."

"What do you mean by 'it's time'?" Dom asked, going on the defensive; he didn't want to leave Fran. "Time for what? Why would this be any easier because you're the one who came to get me?"

"Fran." Master Finn said by way of explanation.

"What do you mean 'Fran'?" Dom exclaimed, trying to not hit the Pai Zuaq master; it sounded like he was insulting Fran to him.

"Dom, calm down." Fran said, placing a refraining hand on his shoulder. "Master Finn merely means that he is the only Pai Zuaq master that I have met and therefore I would not object to him asking for your assistance with something."

"Alright; fair enough." Dom said, calming down. "But that doesn't answer my other questions."

"Dom, I think he means it's time for your masters' test." Fran said, smiling slightly at his awed expression.

"No, I couldn't possibly be ready to become a master." Dom said, in an awed voice.

"Dom, listen to me carefully." Fran said taking his hand while he faced her. "You are more than ready. I believe that you will be amazing, and pass your test. However, you have to believe in yourself the way I believe in you."

"Alright, Fran." Dom said after a moment. "Let's go to the testing site."

"No, Dom." Fran said, shaking her hand. "I'm not Pai Zuaq; I can't go to the testing site. Besides, if I were to be there I could be more of a distraction to you. You need your full concentration for the test. I'll stay here waiting for you to return."

"I don't know, Fran." Dom said, hesitantly.

"I promise not to spar anyone, until you get back." Fran said, trying to get Dom to go without her.

He thought it through for a moment; he was hesitant to leave Fran. He knew that the rest of the group would want to come and see him taking his test, and that would mean that Jimmy would be the only one, besides the veteran rangers, who would be here with her. If there was an attack on the city, she wouldn't hesitate to go into battle without waiting for them. He also knew that Fran was trying to keep something from him; he just didn't know what she was keeping from him. He had to hope that her parents, Tommy and Kimberly, would stop her from doing anything stupid.

"Alright, Fran." Dom said keeping the sound of suspicion out of his voice. "The others and I will go to the testing site. Just promise me that you won't do anything too dangerous without me around to back you up."

"I promise on my animal spirit, that I won't do anything too dangerous without you around to give me back up." Fran said, trying to sound sincere, but knowing she probably would break that promise if any civilians are in danger.

With that said, Dom nodded at her and left with Master Finn, the others following behind them. Fran waved and watched them leave, but once they were out of sight she quickly went into the kitchen, up the stairs, into the loft and over to the workout area. She sat down Indian-style and closed her eyes, letting her spirit unleash itself. The spirit called out to the other owl who was trying to call earlier; soon she felt herself drift into another plane. Fran was surrounded by trees, she saw that she was in some sort of plateau.

"Hello, Fran." A feminine voice said from behind Fran.

Fran turned around and saw a red-headed woman wearing a green bikini standing behind her, smiling. Fran didn't have to be told who she was, she could tell that this was Dulcea of Phados.

"Hello, Dulcea." Fran said. "I take it, you're the one who has been calling out to my owl spirit?"

"Yes, Fran, I have." Dulcea said, her voice becoming grave. "I'm afraid that an old enemy's ghost has come forward. I fear that you are in very grave danger."

"Whose ghost has come to haunt us?" Fran asked.

"Ivan Ooze." Dulcea answered. "His son has arrived on earth, and I'm afraid he will be going after you, your friends, and the Ninjetti for vengeance."

"I understand why he wants to go after the Ninjetti; I even understand why he may want to come after me, but what I don't understand is why he would bother coming after my team." Fran said, curiosity in her voice.

"He has aligned himself with the current enemy of your team, Xia Zulong." Dulcea answered. "And no matter how you may look at it, I'm afraid that you will be the main target of any and all of their strategies."

"True." Fran agreed. "Attack me directly and both the Ninjetti and my team will be hurt, attack my team and/or the Ninjetti and I will be hurt."

"I believe that there is very little that we can do about this situation." Dulcea said, in a grave voice.

"No, Dulcea." Fran argued. "We can stop them. We stop Ooze and Xia Zulong, before they can hurt anyone." She paused to take a breath. "Dulcea, help me to become stronger. Help me be ready to protect everyone, please."

"Fran, you don't yet know what the future holds. And even though you can't see it, you will keep fighting to protect your family." Dulcea observed, smiling slightly. "The power of the Ninjetti has already been given to those it was meant for; however the Pai Zuaq power that you and your team embrace should be powerful enough to stop them. You will master your animal spirit soon, Fran; you being here is proof of that. Now you must learn the style of others and master them."

"I won't stop fighting, Dulcea; I promise." Fran stated, determined.

"I know, Fran." Dulcea said, looking towards Fran's abdomen. "Just do me, yourself, and your mate a favor and remind Tommy and Kimberly that you exist and that you're their daughter."

Before Fran could ask what Dulcea was talking about, shifted back to the plane that her body resided. Fran opened her eyes to see Dom right in front of her; the rest of the team and the Ninjetti were behind him. Fran smiled at Dom to try and alleviate any worries he may have formed, but he was not going to have any of that.

"Fran, what happened?" Dom asked, very worried and ignoring her reassuring smile.

"Nothing, Dom." Fran said, shaking her head. "How did the masters' test go?"

"Fran, don't try to change the subject." Dom said, letting Fran have her way and distract him. "What happened? Why were you in a metative trans and glowing pink?"

"Was I really?" Fran asked, genially surprised. "I had no idea."

"Fran." Dom exclaimed earnestly, and sternly.

"Alright!" Fran said, finally giving in. "I was answering a call from another owl spirit. It was Dulcea."

"Dulcea?" All six ninjetti asked.

Fran nodded, "Yes. My spirit moved to Phados and I spoke with her. She said that Ivan Ooze's son has come to earth and he teamed up with Xia Zulong. He'll be coming after the Ninjetti and the Jungle Fury team."

"I understand Ooze wanting to go after the Ninjetti; they defeated Ivan." Dom said, trying to understand and stay calm during all of this. "But why the hell would Ooze want to come after us?"

"Me." Fran said, not looking at any of them. "If he hurts the Ninjetti and/or the team, it would hurt me; if he attacks me directly, it hurts the Ninjetti and the team. Either way, both Ooze and Xia Zulong win."

"What else did Dulcea say?" Tommy asked, after a moment of silence.

"She said that I would soon master my owl spirit." Fran said. "She also said that I needed to start learning the styles of other animal spirits and master them as well."

"Don't worry, Fran." Dom said. "We all will teach you our styles to the best of our abilities."

"Dom, do you think you could teach me first?" Fran asked. "I have a feeling that I'm going to need your technic sooner than anyone else's."

"Sure, Fran." Dom said, smiling. "First thing in the morning." With that said everyone went their separate ways.

Of course, both Fran and Dom knew that the reason that Fran gave wasn't the real reason; she just wanted to spend some more alone time with Dom, even if that meant intense traning; thought since she was Fran, Dom was going to go as easy as possible on her while still teaching her his technic. But all of that was going to wait till tomorrow, tonight Dom was going to tell Fran about his masters' test; He knew she was dying to know the details, so he would tell her tonight after lights out when no one else was around. He was fighting the grin he felt was trying to make its way on to his face; he was going to have a good night he just knew it.

**Author's note: Well what do you all think? I know it has been a while since I updated, but I've been fighting writers block. You all know how that is. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter is Dom's masters' test. Be sure to tune in! See you next update.**


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